How a real "mermaid" was born in India»

22-year-old resident of the Indian district of Lakhimpur-Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, gave birth to a baby suffering from sirenomelia-mermaid syndrome. The legs of the baby, who died an hour after birth, fused together to form what looked like a fish tail.

Sirenomelia is a very rare fetal developmental defect that occurs in about one in 100 thousand newborns. Usually, their condition was aggravated by the underdevelopment of the kidneys, intestines and other internal organs, the absence of the anus and external genitalia. All this leads to the fact that children with sirenomelia short-lived — of the order of several hours.

In the world, there are only a few cases where such children were able to live a meaningful time. American Shiloh Penin, remaining in her "mermaid" state, lived for ten years, did well in school, starred in TV programs, and probably felt relatively well. She died of pneumonia, which was probably not related to her illness.

American Tiffany Yorks (May 7, 1988 — February 24, 2016) underwent surgery to separate her legs at the age of one year. She never learned to walk, and spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair.

Milagros Serron (born April 27, 2004), a Peruvian woman, underwent three surgeries as a child, learned to walk, and even enrolled in a dance club. She's doing well at the moment.

As for the Indian baby (the doctors did not even have time to determine its gender, since the relevant organs were missing), according to The Times of India, he was examined by a doctor Subhash Verma, who recommended that the apparently weak child be immediately sent to the district hospital in Lakhimpur. Alas, the child died before his parents had time to make any decision.