IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Girl Born in India With Two Heads Sent to New Delhi for Care

A girl born with two heads at a hospital in India this week has been transferred to a medical center in the country's capital for care, a health official said.
Image: Hospital staff stand next to the girl born with two heads
Hospital staff stands next to the girl born with two heads.Courtesy of Cygnus JK Hindu Hosp

A girl born with two heads at a hospital in northern India earlier this week has been transferred to a medical center in the country's capital for further care, a health official said Saturday.

The girl, who also has two necks, was born on Wednesday morning, according to media reports. Her mother delivered her via Caesarean section and the girl weighed in at 5.3 pounds, said Dr. Ashish Sehgal of Cygnus JK Hindu Hospital.

"She is presently alive and healthy," he told NBC News in an email.

Image: Hospital staff stand next to the girl born with two heads
Hospital staff stands next to the girl born with two heads.Courtesy of Cygnus JK Hindu Hosp

The girl has been sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

"Making the baby survive for long is a real tough challenge," Sehgal said.

It would require a highly-specialized and "challenging surgery," he added, which may be considered after the girl undergoes further tests, is stabilized and prepped for such a procedure.

Conjoined twins happen once every 200,000 live births. Some 40 to 60 percent of conjoined twins are stillborn, while 35 percent survive one day. Their overall survival rate is between 5 percent and 25 percent, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Some 70 percent of total conjoined twins are girls.