Call them a miracle, monsters or even a blessing if you will, but these conjoined twins have been making headlines since their birth.
Delivered in Maharashtra, these conjoined twins were reportedly born with two heads on a single torso, a state commonly called dicephalic parapagus.
This happens almost one-in-a-million times and therefore, the doctors reportedly said that "his is the third case of babies being born with dicephalic parapagus (two heads one torso) in the state ever."
Twins had separate lungs and brain but shared other integral organs
While the twins defied odds with their unusual birth on October 29, they were put on ventilators owing to birth asphyxia (deprivation of oxygen) as well as respiratory complications.
Dr Sudhir Deshmukh, dean of Ambajogai Government Medical College (GMC) in Maharashtra told the media, "The twins weighed 3.7kg at birth and had separate lungs and brain but shared other integral organs. The incident itself is one in one lakh childbirths and only one third of such babies survive."
Unfortunately for the parents, the twins died a day after their birth.
The condition of the children was diagnosed only in the seventh month of gestation
“We had put the twins in the ventilator right after their birth because their lungs were underdeveloped and one of them was diagnosed with anencephaly (life threatening brain and skull underdevelopment). There were other anomalies too that restricted their chances of survival,” the doctors at the hospital's Neonatal Care Unit told the media.
They also added the family was also unable to afford any additional care owing to their financial situation. The couple were already parents of one son and three daughters and came to know of their twins' condition only in the seventh month.
"The condition of the children was diagnosed only in the seventh month of gestation. By then the woman had passed the legal stage of abortion,” Dr Deshmukh shared.
This case comes close on heels to a similar case of Mumbai's conjoined twins who passed away four months after their birth. But again reiterates the importance of pregnancy scans. As experts advice, if you can afford to, you must.
Here are a few things a pregnancy scan shows potential parents.
Importance of pregnancy scans
There are five scans you will go through during your pregnancy.
These include Dating and viability scan (carried out between sixth and ninth week), Nuchal translucency (NT) scan (carried out between 11 and 13 weeks), Anomaly scan (carried out between 18 and 20 weeks), Growth scan (carried out between 28 and 30 weeks), and Colour Doppler scan (carried out between 36 and 40 weeks).
Apart from checking the growth, these scans also reveal the following:
- Identifying the placement of the fertilised egg, where the placenta grows
- Checking your developing baby’s heartbeat
- Checking for the number of babies you may have conceived
- Checking for ectopic pregnancy
- Predicting an accurate date of delivery
- Checking for bleeding during pregnancy and finding its root cause
- Checking if your baby is suffering from down syndrome
- Aiding diagnostic tests to check the placement of the baby and the placenta
- Checking to see if the baby’s organs are growing normally
- Checking the amount of amniotic fluid
- Checking the blood flow in the uterus
So irrespective of how healthy your baby is, these scans are not only critical to keep a track but also to prepare oneself in case certain anomalies are observed.
Also read: Amazing! A Mumbai baby was born 'pregnant' with his twin brother
(News Source: HT | All images courtesy: The Independent/ HT)
