Locals from kilometers away flocked to wonder at what they called a “miracle of God” when a baby was born with four legs and two sets of genitalia. He was born yesterday in Gorakhpur, an Indian city in the Uttar Pradesh area, around 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) southeast of New Delhi. Father Bulhan Nishad, a laborer, and mother Rambha gave birth to the unidentified boy. It will be necessary for the unnamed youngster to have surgery in a hospital in the adjacent city of Lucknow.
His rare condition appears to be the result of a parasitic twin, in which part of a conjoined twin that never fully developed remains attached to the baby. A video taken yesterday showed local people gathering around the baby in awe, as he squirms on a hospital bed. His mother Rambha was taken to the hospital because she was in a lot of pain while giving birth, local media reported, and the parents were shocked to see their baby. The doctor was also reportedly surprised to see what had happened, and said the boy would need to be taken to a bigger hospital for treatment.
Despite the shock of the parents and doctors, local people have been fascinated by the baby and reportedly walked miles to get a glimpse of him, calling him a “miracle from God.” Doctors did not reveal what had caused the baby’s condition, but it appears to be the result of a parasitic twin. In this uncommon but complicated situation, the undeveloped parts of a twin may remain attached to the live baby when it is born. This often takes the form of extra limbs, as in this case, and usually requires surgery to remove the extra growth. The excess body parts are dependent on the same heart and lungs as the rest of the baby’s appendages, but it is not clear if they can be controlled in the same way. Although rare-parasite twins are thought to be a one in a million condition-there have been numerous documented cases of the phenomenon.
