Hojai (Assam): In a rare case of Sirenomelia, also known as mermaid syndrome, a woman in Assam's Hojai district on Friday gave birth to a 'mermaid baby', born with fused limbs.
Jharna Chandra, who was just a few weeks away from giving birth to her child, had gone to a private hospital in the district for her regular pregnancy check-up when the doctors informed her about the abnormality in the fetus.
Following the doctors advise, Chandra decided to abort the baby, who was diagnosed with Sirenomelia, a rare congenital disease occurring one in lakh births and warrants immediate attention as it can be fatal for the newborn.
Stunned by the birth of a 'mermaid' like baby, whose gender could not be detected as the baby’s lower half was merged in a tail-like structure, Chandra's husband said, "the baby is neither a boy or a girl. It looks like a fish, doesn't have legs or hands."
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Sirenomelia causes stillbirths in many instances, and in case of live birth, a newborn’s odds of survival, even after surgical intervention, are small. It is an extremely rare congenital development disorder which causes abnormalities of the lower spine and legs.
