Two-Faced Baby is Born in India
A baby girl was born three weeks ago in India with two faces. The as-yet-unnamed baby was born with two pairs of eyes, two pairs of lips and two noses, and doctors have sadly rendered her inoperable.
The child was born to 24-year-old Vinod Kumar and his wife, Sushma, in the town of Noida, which is 50km North East of New Delhi in Northern India. Mr Kumar admitted to being a little scared of the baby when she was first born. He said: "I had never seen something like this in my life, so naturally I was a little scared when I first saw her." However, he now admits that the baby is extremely well loved by his extended family. The baby's grandfather emphasised this by telling reporters, "This child is very special to us."
Despite her severe physical disability, the baby is still managing to eat and breathe normally. Her father said: "She's fed through one mouth and sucks her thumb with the other. We use whichever mouth is free to feed her." In fact, the doctor present at the birth told the proud father that his child was fine, which has led Mr Kumar to shrug off the need for further medical help. Mr Kumar explains: "The doctor said everything is normal when she was born. So where's the need to get medical help?" However, D.K Gupta, a leading paediatrician with the All India institute of Medical Sciences, still believes that the child should be given a thorough check-up to see whether her disability will cause her any long-term problems. He said, "Clearly the child is in no immediate danger, but it has to be checked whether the oral and nasal cavity and other passages" are functioning properly.
The baby's two faces are due to her having two skulls that are fused together. Because of the delicate nature of this area, Doctors believe that her condition is inoperable. D.K Gupta explains: "Since the heads are fused, separating them is not possible."