In a rare and medically complex case, a woman gave birth to a baby girl with two heads at Christian Mission Hospital in Rajshahi city on Saturday night.
The child was delivered through Cesarean section at around 8:30pm to Sumaiya Khatun and Golam Azam, a couple from the Billi Bazar area of Tanore upazila in Rajshahi.
The baby鈥檚 father, Golam Azam, said that he married a year ago and it was their first child.
鈥榃e did several checkups during the pregnancy and conducted multiple ultrasonography scans. That鈥檚 when we were told the baby would have two heads. The C-section was done Saturday night, and the doctors referred us to RMCH for further care,鈥� he said.
Following the delivery, doctors at Christian Mission Hospital referred the baby to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for specialised care. The infant is currently being treated at RMCH鈥檚 Ward 26 under close medical supervision.
鈥楾his is not a case of conjoined twins, but rather a congenital anomaly,鈥� said Sankar K Biswas, spokesperson of RMCH.
He said the baby had one body and one set of reproductive organs, but two fully formed heads. Each head has its own set of facial features鈥攆our eyes, four ears, two noses and two mouths.
Dr Sankar described the birth as an 鈥榚xtremely rare phenomenon鈥� and added that their primary focus at the moment was to keep the baby alive.
Cases like this, known as dicephalic parapagus, occur in roughly one out of every several million births and pose significant medical and ethical challenges, according to health professionals.
