The mother reportedly had no idea she was carrying twins because she could not afford an ultrasound. Doctors say they don’t believe the baby girls, who have two heads but one set of vital organs, will survive.

A woman gave birth to what seemed to be a girl with two heads in northern India on Wednesday. Urmila Sharma, 28, was too poor to afford an ultrasound and had no idea she was carrying conjoined twins, reports said.

“She is presently alive and healthy,” Dr. Ashish Sehgal said of the twins, although doctors do not expect them to survive. The twins each have a head but share one body and all their vital organs, so separation is not possible.

A very “meticulous and challenging” surgery could save the babies’ lives, but doctors cannot operate until the girls are stable, Sehgal — who’s also the CEO of the Cygnus J.K. Hindu Hospital in Sonipat, Haryana. The twins are currently in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Sehgal said keeping them alive was “a real tough challenge,” but said he is “hoping for success with crossed fingers.”

Doctors said it was too late do anything by the time Sharma delivered the twins via Caesarean section. They were born weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces and have not been named.
The twins have two necks and two spines.

British papers report the mother’s family is “very distressed.”
Some conjoined twins can be separated — depending on shared organs and where they’re connected — but most are stillborn or die shortly after birth.

Source: daily news