A baby with Sirenomelia, also known as ‘mermaid syndrome’, was born in a government hospital in Maharashtra on 21 May, but died minutes later, doctors said.
The newborn, whose legs had fused together to resemble the mythical creature, only lived for about 15 minutes.
The baby was born at the Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Government Hospital at Ambajogai.
The baby was born with a fish-like body, and had its hands spread like fins. The upper body was functional but the lower body was not developed. Its gender was unclear due to the fusion of the lower extremities.Dr Sanjay Bansode, Attending Gynaecologist
The mother is safe, the doctor said. He added that Diksha and her husband are labourers engaged in cutting sugarcane.
The mother underwent sonography in the eighth month of her pregnancy but did not take any medicine during her pregnancy.
What is Sirenomelia or Mermaid Syndrome?
Sirenomelia is a rare congenital developmental disorder characterised by anomalies of lower spine and lower limbs.
Affected infants are born with partial or complete fusion of the legs.
Sirenomelia is a life-threatening illness, marked by the rotation and fusion of a sufferer’s legs. The rare congenital deformity causes what looks like a single limb, resembling a fish tail, in the womb.
Infants who are affected may have one, both or no feet at all. Doctors are yet to find out what exactly causes this rare disorder.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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