A baby with features of mermaid features was born at the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology.
The newborn, who could not survive, had a tail-like leg and a head larger than normal size
The woman of Narowal was admitted to the hospital for delivery. A heart patient, she gave birth to a child with Sirenomelia also called mermaid syndrome.
Newspaper reports said the baby was born dead and such infants usually do not survive.
Media quoting doctors said that the head of the baby was larger than normal size with two arms and a tail-like leg attached to her abdomen.
Sirenomelia is a rare congenital deformity in which the legs are fused, giving the appearance of a mermaid’s tail, hence the nickname.
According to healthline.com, the syndrome is a very rare disorder affecting 0.8 to 1 baby per 100,000 live births. Male babies experience this condition three times more often than females.
Doctors don’t know exactly what causes mermaid syndrome, but they believe it’s likely a combination of environmental and genetic factors, according to the National Organisation for Rare Disorders.
Doctors call many cases “sporadic”, meaning they occur for no known reason. These causes often lead to impaired blood flow in the embryo, specifically in the region where the lower limbs would typically grow.
