Conjoined twins delivered at home, family seeks help

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) - A Dalit family in Lakhimpur Kheri has appealed for financial assistance from the state government as well as individuals, to separate a pair conjoined twins that were born at home on Thursday.

The father of the babies, Ram Kumar Gautam, works as a daily wage labourer.

The doctors in Lakhimpur are 'surprised' that the twins had a safe home delivery.

Dr S K Sachan said, "We are surprised that the conjoined twins have survived in a home delivery which is rare keeping in mind the complications in such cases."

The twins are omphalopagus, which means that they are joined near the belly button, and the survival rate in such cases is usually only between 5 to 25 per cent, according to medical experts.

Such twins generally share a liver but some share the lower part of the small intestine and colon.

Usually conjoined babies require surgical delivery by caesarean section due to their anatomy, but in this case, they were born through normal delivery at home in Danduri village on Thursday.

The baby girls were taken to a community health centre (CHC) on Friday morning by their father where the staff said that they were 'healthy'.

The twins have been referred to a higher centre in Lucknow for further medical tests.

The chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Manoj Agarwal told reporters that the conjoined twins have a high mortality rate and the birth of the baby girls was a rare case of survival. "We will check the possibility of treatment of the babies," he said.

The mother, Nindara, said she was worried about the future of her daughters. "They might need treatment at some point to lead a normal life. I hope we can get some support from the authorities," she said. (Agency)