Baby with "mermaid syndrome" born in Maha; dies minutes later

A baby with Sirenomelia, also known as mermaid syndrome, was born in a government hospital in the district today, but died minutes later, doctors said.

The newborn, whose legs had fused together to resemble the mythical creature, only lived for about 15 minutes.

Sirenomelia is a rare congenital developmental disorder characterised by anomalies of lower spine and lower limbs. Affected infants are born with partial or complete fusion of the legs.

"The baby was born at the Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Government Hospital at Ambajogai. It died 15 minutes later," attending gynaecologist Dr Sanjay Bansode said.

The mother, Diksha Kamble (25), was admitted in the hospital today at 7 am. The infant, which weighed 1.8 kg