A 19-year-old girl, Zainabu Dahiru gave birth to a daughter with what looks
like another head attached at the General Hospital, Malumfashi, Katsina
State.
The baby girl was also delivered with a cleft palate, stunted fingers and no eyes.
A gynaecologist at the Garki Hospital, Abuja, Kayode Obende, said the
condition was called encephacele.e abnormalities.
Encephacele is a neural tube defect characterized by sac-like protrusions of the brain and the membranes that cover it through openings in the skull. These defects are caused by failure of the neural tube to close completely during fetal development.
Although the baby’s father, Malam Dahiru Umar said the mother had a
normal delivery, both mother and child will need to undergo physical
checks and X-ray with the baby needing reconstructive surgery
eventually.
He said he was moved to tears seeing the situation, but was consoled
when hospital staff informed him that his wife was in a stable
condition.
The baby has been referred to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, near, Zaria.
