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Three-headed baby delivered at city hospital

Jun 09, 2009 News

Doctors and nurses at a city hospital are baffled that she has survived for so long, but a two month old baby who was born with what appears to be three heads, is still clinging to life.

Born via caesarian section, the first child of a West Coast Demerara woman is presently being monitored at the public institution and according to her mother, doctors are cautiously optimistic that with expert surgery, some, if not all of the baby’s deformities could be rectified.

One look at the infant and many would be very surprised by her appearance.

Although one could see three large skull-like objects, only one resembles an actual face, with an eye (the other is completely damaged), a nose and a cleft palate (commonly referred to as harelip).

The other part of her body is quite normal and she cries and reacts just like any other baby.

In an exclusive interview with this newspaper yesterday, the baby’s mother who spends her time in bed with her at the children’s ward, said that she was completely shocked when she saw her child for the first time.

The woman told Kaieteur News that she had a normal pregnancy, but had to deliver her baby by C-Section because doctors initially suspected that the child had a very large head.

However, she did not see her baby until three days after delivery.

She explained that at first, the nurses did not tell her what had happened to her baby, but they assured her that the child was alive.

“Doctors had told me that there were supposed to be three babies but all come in one,” she said.

Eventually, the woman was allowed to see her baby and she was not prepared for what she saw.

But like any other mother, she still cherished her first born.

“I held her hand. The nurse said that although she was like this, she still needs love and attention,” the woman told this newspaper.

Eventually she took her baby home and although her relatives had heard the news of the unusual child, some of them had their reservations.

“Not everybody agreed with me (taking her home). Some said that I should have left her at the hospital,” the mother explained.

Even the child’s father wants nothing to do with the child.

But for now, the child’s mother is anxiously awaiting the diagnosis from doctors, to ascertain how to proceed with corrective surgery.

According to the woman, urgent surgery is required to stop the growth of the child’s head, while surgery to correct her enlarged left eye will have to wait a little longer.

“The head keeps growing and I frighten one of these days it’s going to pop because the skin getting thin. The nurses are surprised that she survived so long with so much fluid inside,” the mother stated.

The baby has never suckered from her mother’s breast, but is still being fed the milk from a syringe.

“She never get sick. She alright,” the mother said, adding that she has already named her baby.

However, because of her condition, the child requires special care that is certainly putting a strain on the mother’s meager financial resources.

“I am poor and I can’t afford any expensive treatment,” she said as the baby began to cry in need of her feed.

“You spoil,” she told the baby with a smile.

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