Baby born with two faces

[elixer]

I guess it's not all that misfortunate...she's being revered as a goddess!

Baby With 2 Faces Born in North India



Mother Sushma holds her daughter Lali at their residence in Saini Sunpura, 5...

By GURINDER OSAN, AP

23 hours ago

SAINI SUNPURA, India — A baby with two faces was born in a northern Indian village, where she is doing well and is being worshipped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, her father said Tuesday.

The baby, Lali, apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Except for her ears, all of Lali's facial features are duplicated — she has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes.

"My daughter is fine — like any other child," said Vinod Singh, 23, a poor farm worker.

Lali has caused a sensation in the dusty village of Saini Sunpura, 25 miles east of New Delhi. When she left the hospital, eight hours after a normal delivery on March 11, she was swarmed by villagers, said Sabir Ali, the director of Saifi Hospital.

"She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time," Ali said.

Rural India is deeply superstitious and the little girl is being hailed as a return of the Hindu goddess of valor, Durga, a fiery deity traditionally depicted with three eyes and many arms.

Up to 100 people have been visiting Lali at her home every day to touch her feet out of respect, offer money and receive blessings, Singh told The Associated Press.

"Lali is God's gift to us," said Jaipal Singh, a member of the local village council. "She has brought fame to our village."

Village chief Daulat Ram said he planned to build a temple to Durga in the village.

"I am writing to the state government to provide money to build the temple and help the parents look after their daughter," Ram said.

Lali's condition is often linked to serious health complications, but the doctor said she was doing well.

"She is leading a normal life with no breathing difficulties," said Ali, adding that he saw no need for surgery.

Lali's parents were married in February 2007. Lali is their first child.

Singh said he took his daughter to a hospital in New Delhi where doctors suggested a CT scan to determine whether her internal organs were normal, but Singh said he felt it was unnecessary.

"I don't feel the need of that at this stage as my daughter is behaving like a normal child, posing no problems," he said.


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[elixer]

Isn't that lovely? Being celebrated for being different instead of ostracized. What a concept.

[Chezzie]

Its an amazing sight, shes so beautiful....I hope she can lead a happy life:-6

[Joe]

Pinky;832360 wrote: There was another child born in India with three sets of arms and legs...weird thing is, the mother dreamt of the goddess Lakshmi before she was born. Lakshmi is traditionally portrayed as having three sets of arms and legs.



Naturally, they named her after the goddess and the villagers felt the divine had reincarnated...which didn't stop the parents getting the superfluous limbs removed.


I remember this story, there was a TV programme about it not long back. Only in the story I saw the baby was born with her own limbs & those of a twin. It was a Siamese twin & the other body wasn't properly formed, it lacked certain vital organs & didn't have a head. They didn't mention 3 sets of arms & legs, unless yours is a different story altogether.



I think in the programme I saw the operation was successful. It was a miracle of modern science that it was possible to give the girl a more normal life & better chances of survival as she grew up. She'll need a lot of operation as she grows but I think the parents did the right thing. She'll have a much better life now she isn't carrying part of another body set into hers at a funny angle.

[CARLA]

Bless her heart her picture was all over the internet today.