Two-headed baby born in China

8:50AM BST 10 May 2011
The babies were born by caesarean on Thursday at the Suining City Central Hospital in Sichuan. The twins weighed 9 pounds (4 kilograms) and measured 20 inches (51 centimetres), according to local press reports.

The parents, who are migrant farmers living outside of the southwestern city, did not learn of the abnormality until two days before the mother was due to give birth.

Two ultra sound scans in September and February failed to reveal the two heads because the technicians were viewing the single embryo in profile.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

Here is a pretty sad and intriguing story about the arrival of a two headed infant in China yesterday that doctors fear because both heads share the same spine and nervous system there will no way to ever separate.

The article has a video of the baby that tends to underscore that.

Is this just a rare anomaly in nature or could external factors some how lead to such a tragic and difficult occurrence.

Ultra sound technicians and doctors failed to diagnose the situation because of the angle of which the baby is resting.

I am not sure what I would do in such a situation, whether to give the child a chance at life or abort.

I wish the baby and parents luck.

I know thats pretty harsh about the baby, but it did just make me think of that episode of family guy where stewie and Brian travel through parallel universes..

Anyway, can't imagine what the complications would be with the baby(s)?

Reminds me of this girl(s)...



Are 2 heads always better than one?

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

doctors fear because both heads share the same spine and nervous system there will no way to ever separate.

Wow, has that ever happened before? How can the creationists explain this? Will definitely be hard to make a choice of abortion in this case. I think it probably should be aborted, what kind of life will the "childs" live? I think this crosses the line in the sand. Is life really worth living in such a state, or will the suffering be too great. I'm all for making the best of what you get dealt, but man...

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


I wish the newborn much luck as well. interesting artical

reply to post by JibbyJedi


Well it's nice to know these babies have a shot at having a productive life.

Two heads can often be better than one.

Thanks for posting that, I look forward to watching it.

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

 

doctors fear because both heads share the same spine and nervous system there will no way to ever separate.

Wow, has that ever happened before? How can the creationists explain this? Will definitely be hard to make a choice of abortion in this case. I think it probably should be aborted, what kind of life will the "childs" live? I think this crosses the line in the sand. Is life really worth living in such a state, or will the suffering be too great. I'm all for making the best of what you get dealt, but man...

I think it's too late to abort. Unless you mean a really late term abortion.

Originally posted by ATSecretAgent
I know thats pretty harsh about the baby, but it did just make me think of that episode of family guy where stewie and Brian travel through parallel universes..

Anyway, can't imagine what the complications would be with the baby(s)?

Sharing the same spine, central nervous system and vital organs it's bound to be difficult and touch and go for a while.

Two competing brains sending out competing signals sure would likely play havoc on the body?

reply to post by JibbyJedi


Wow, I remember seeing that video in Biology class in high school.... its been a while


On topic of the baby, it's a shame that it had to happen that way. Hopefully, everything will work out for them.

If one head focuses on art and the other on science we might have the most brilliant person in history.

Originally posted by 547000
If one head focuses on art and the other on science we might have the most brilliant person in history.

That's an extremely positive way of looking at it all!



You might be well on the way to claiming that title yourself.

This isn't really hard to believe since of all the pollution in China these days. I wonder if the mother who gave birth lived near a huge area covered in large amounts of it? All I know is this is bad news for the couple because their daughters probably wont survive. If they do, it would be a miracle. My heart goes out to them.

reply to post by TgP3o6


To be honest I was tempted to consider the reactors in Japan as being a possible factor, until I realized that the infants prenatal development predated that disaster.

While it could be just a random freak of nature, some kind of chemical catalyst really could be involved.

Gday Proto.
Its just nature mate.
These things happen all the time, its not nice and its not pretty.
I lost a little sister 18years ago as she had a disability that would have affected her every day of her life.
So my mother had a late termination. I wanted my mum to hold on, but.........
I will always miss my little sis. But now that im older i think my mum did the right thing.
I wish these people all the best for the future.

Peace, Proto.
Your mate meathed

reply to post by meathed


Wow I am sorry about your loss, thanks for sharing that I know it most be difficult, yet a nice way of remembering what might have been in a respectful way.

It likely is just nature, but a human interest story I think a lot of people can relate too.

Thanks for joining in my friend.

Originally posted by Rockdisjoint

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

 

doctors fear because both heads share the same spine and nervous system there will no way to ever separate.

Wow, has that ever happened before? How can the creationists explain this? Will definitely be hard to make a choice of abortion in this case. I think it probably should be aborted, what kind of life will the "childs" live? I think this crosses the line in the sand. Is life really worth living in such a state, or will the suffering be too great. I'm all for making the best of what you get dealt, but man...

I think it's too late to abort. Unless you mean a really late term abortion.

I think we have all met someone quite healthy grown and otherwise adult that has made us wish for such a thing as retroactive abortion.

That is so sad for that family..hopefuly they will grow up like the minnesota girls well-adjusted and normal in what they can do..I belive the china twins was just a freak of nature but whats going to be really sad is all the medical tests they will put the baby through for years ..

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler
That's incredible but I couldn't imagine why they would even consider separating them it seems they would be better off staying together............They're still adorable little babies!

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


Saw that this morning and thought about posting it, glad you did Proto, S&F. I hope they survive and have a productive life. The article says that they do NOT share the spine or the esophagus but that other major organs are shared, which would make separation pretty difficult. However it seems they have separate spines and central nervous systems, which make them separate humans with probably distinctive personalities.

If their body supports them, the only problem they will have in their lives is the disdain from fellow humans, who will gawk at them or discriminate against them out of their own ignorance and fear. Let's say that their heart, their kidneys, lungs, liver and other major organs end up supporting them for decades to come, there is no reason they could not have normal life.

When I say normal, I mean normal sans the difficulties created only by other humans. Let's say they live a solitary lifestyle, in seclusion for the rest of their lives, there should be nothing to prevent them from growing their own garden, making their own food, feel love for their family and each other, own and care for a dog or a cat, or anything else we all do. The only thing, health willing, that these poor girls have to fear are the reactions from the rest of us, "normal" humans.

Khar