Doctors Stunned as Baby is Born With ‘Mermaid Syndrome’ in India

A 22-year-old mum from Sahranpur, in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, last Friday welcomed a baby with a rare condition called sirenomelia, also known as ‘Mermaid syndrome’. The baby, who sadly lived for about ten minutes, left doctors completely stunned as its legs were fused together in typical mermaid fashion.

DailyMail reports a gynaecologist at the hospital who delivered the baby, Dr Vandana Arya said:

I have never seen a case like this before. We have seen congenital disorders amongst children born with deformities, but this was an extremely rare case. The baby was born in a fish-like body, and had its hands spread like fins, which made this case even more unique. The upper body of the baby was absolutely functional but the lower body was not developed.

There are several causes of this condition like excessive medicine intake, a vitamin deficiency, genetics, past history or even maternal diabetes. It also results from a failure of normal vascular supply from the lower aorta in uetro. The operation in these cases is not possible due to the improper development of the body. In some extreme rare cases, the kidneys can be transplanted but the survival rate is very low.

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A large group of people reportedly gathered at the Sahi Ram Hospital, where the baby was born, to catch a glimpse. It’s gender could not be determined because of the condition.

This is the fourth case of mermaid syndrome in the world but the first case reported in India.