The baby was born on August 23rd at the Reeta Ahirwar community health center in Lavkush Nagar. The newborn weighed 3 kilograms, and additional arms and legs were attached to the upper chest and abdomen.
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Doctors were stunned by this sight. They believe it may be a very rare case of a parasitic twin – a condition where one of the twins in the womb does not fully develop but remains attached to the other twin, reports “The Sun”.
The second, so-called dominant twin, develops but may be born with additional limbs, and sometimes additional organs or tissues.
Initially, the newborn and mother were left under medical observation, but later referred for specialized treatment. Doctors say the baby’s condition currently appears stable, but more detailed examinations are necessary before deciding on treatment.
Specialists will need to determine how the additional body parts are connected to the newborn’s body.
The baby is being prepared for an urgent flight
The newborn is being prepared to be transported to a hospital in the Jabalpur district, about 50 kilometers away. There, specialists will assess his blood vessels, bones, circulation, and internal organs.
Due to the rarity of this condition, most doctors have never encountered a parasitic twin pregnancy in practice.
The doctor overseeing the case, Singh, called it extremely rare.
“This is a rare case of conjoined twins – one in a million,” he said.
Senior nurse Savita, who has worked at the health center for over a decade, also said she had never seen anything like it.
“In my 14–15 years of work, this is the first time I have encountered such a case, and it stunned us all. In conjoined twins, two babies develop joined together in the womb,” she said.
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“In this case, one baby developed fully, while only arms and legs developed from the other. Therefore, this baby has additional limbs,” added Savita.
What is a parasitic twin?
Although the dominant twin develops fully, this condition can increase the risk of various medical complications. Surgery is often required shortly after birth.
Besides additional limbs, the baby’s body may also contain tissues with underdeveloped organs or bones that may need to be removed later.
Scientists do not yet know exactly why this condition occurs. One theory suggests that at a very early stage of identical twin pregnancy, the embryo does not fully split.
In a typical identical twin pregnancy, one fertilized egg splits into two parts, creating two genetically identical twins.
If the egg does not separate completely, conjoined twins may form.
However, sometimes one fetus is partially absorbed by the other early in pregnancy. As a result, the partially absorbed twin stops developing and becomes the so-called parasitic twin.
A parasitic twin can sometimes be detected during pregnancy through tests, but in some cases, it may go unnoticed – this depends on the size and position of the additional tissues.
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