A 22-year-old resident of the Indian city of Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) gave birth to a baby with a rare mutation - sirenomelia, better known as the little mermaid syndrome. Unfortunately, a newborn baby with crossed legs, according to the Daily Mail website, lived for only about 10 minutes.
“In our practice, we have already encountered such anomalies of intrauterine development, but I personally observe such a pronounced little mermaid syndrome for the first time. The child's body was like a fish, and the contrast between the fused legs and the upper fully functional part of the body was further emphasized by the completely normal hands, which, however, because of the legs, were perceived more like fins,”says obstetrician Vandana Aria.
The child, as follows from the published information, died due to undeveloped kidneys. It is noted that until the 30th week of pregnancy, his mother did not complain about anything - the pregnancy proceeded absolutely normally. The abnormal development of the lower extremities and the peculiarities of the internal organs associated with this fact became known only as a result of an ultrasound examination, which the woman resorted to at a later date.
Among the causes of sirenomelia are genetic, medication and other factors, among which there may even be diabetes, which the mother of the child is ill with.