The newborns have separate necks and spines, but share the same body

Mar 14, 2014 17:11 GMT  ·  By

Conjoined twin babies were born to a poor woman in northern India. The mother reportedly had no idea she was carrying twins because she could not afford an ultrasound.

The baby girls look like a single two-headed baby, and doctors say they don't believe they will survive. The newborns have separate necks and separate spines but only one body, so they are sharing most vital organs.

The 28-year-old mother Urmila Sharma gave birth via C-section at Sonipat's Cygnus JK Hindu Hospital in Haryana, India.

The rare condition is known as dicephalic parapagus, and means that conjoined twins share a single body. It’s a very rare phenomenon, the occurrence being estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. The condition is also known to be more frequently found among females.

According to Daily Mail, Urmila Sharma was completely unaware of any complications throughout her pregnancy. The infants were born weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces (3.37 kg) and have not been named. They are now fighting for life in the intensive care unit of the Indian hospital.

Doctors are not very confident of their chances of survival. They only became aware that something was wrong two weeks before the woman’s due date.

“We only came to know she was carrying conjoined twins after an ultrasound two weeks ago but it was too late to do anything by then,” Dr. Shikha Malik, who delivered the twins, said.

“Now the baby is born we will do our best to save her and we hope to operate once her condition is more stable,” she added.

Urmila and her husband Subhash, 32, were too poor to have an ultrasound during the pregnancy, and sadly they didn't notice their babies hadn't completely separated.

Because the twins share the same body, it’s practically impossible to separate them. However, medical staff at the hospital have vowed to do all they can to keep the infant alive.

“We will do our best to save her and we hope to operate once her condition is more stable,” Dr. Malik said.

Experts say most cases of separation are extremely risky and life-threatening, as the surgery may result in the death of one or both of the twins, especially if they share vital organs.

A similar case was recorded just last month in Australia, when future parents Renee and Simon Howie discovered they were having a baby with two faces and two brains, but just one body. The couple shocked doctors when they decided to keep the unborn baby.