A miracle baby boy with two heads was born in India on Monday. The baby, whom the doctors described as a miracle, was born to a 20-year old woman at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Rajasthan. The baby weighed about 2.5 kilograms (5lbs 7oz), according to the Daily Mail.
Parents to blame
The miracle baby created a lot of buzz soon after birth, and everyone wanted to have a glimpse of him, said Dr. Jaiprakash Narayan, an assistant professor of the pediatric medicine department. He described the boy as being born in a “healthy state.”
This was the couple’s first child, and for this reason, they were not aware of the importance of seeing a doctor during pregnancy and the extra precautions that they should have taken, the doctor said. The mother completed her pregnancy full-term and was in good health post-surgery, but the baby began to suffer from breathing issues.
Dr Jaiprakash was in a dilemma about whether or not to operate on the newborn to save his life but eventually decided it was too difficult. He said that though it was possible to operate in some cases of conjoined twins, it was next to impossible in this case.
“Despite having two pairs of all of their internal organs they were all trapped in one body, with only one pair of arms and legs. You cannot separate such children,” the doctor said.
The miracle baby was kept in the intensive care unit. The parents took the miracle baby home despite the risks and warnings from the hospital staff. Their carelessness cost the child (who died 32 hours after his birth) his life, states the Daily Mail. This shook the parents who are struggling to come to terms with their loss and have been turning to family members for support.
Citing a recent study, The Indian Express noted that birth defects are present in as many as 2% of all the babies born in India.
“In absolute numbers, this translates into nearly [600,000] babies being born each year with congenital anomaly, with heart defects being the most prevalent condition,” said University of Pune’s Dr Anita Kar from the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences.
Another miracle baby turns two
Proper care could have saved the life of the miracle baby just like it did Jaxon Buell, another miracle baby who was born with most of his skull missing. This miracle baby recently turned two and had slim chances of survival as he was diagnosed in an ultrasound with a serious brain malformation called anencephaly.
The doctors advised his mother to go for an abortion as there were chances of him dying during the pregnancy. The child’s parents did not agree and chose to bring him in this world. The child turned two this Saturday, notes a separate report from the Daily Mail.
The parents wrote on Facebook, “Two years ago today, Jaxon Emmett Buell was born and our lives changed forever. Although many gave up on him too soon and others told us we would not see this day, today we are celebrating Jaxon’s 2nd birthday!”
