2-Headed Baby Born In Afghanistan

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Chances 'Slim' For Survival Of Two-Headed Baby

AN Afghan woman has given birth in Iran to twin boys whose heads share the same body, doctors said today.

The babies stood little chance of survival, they added. "I've seen twin attached by the head or stomach but never a baby with two heads," a female doctor at the Ghaem hospital in the north-western city of Mashhad told AFP by telephone.

"Sometimes one head cries, while the other sleeps," she added.

"For the time being the baby is fine, but the chances of survival are low. In such cases there is too much strain on the heart," lamented the doctor, who was working in the intensive care ward where the twins had been placed.

The mother has been identified as a 45-year-old Afghan, Najmeh Wahedian. The doctor said the heavily conjoined twins, born late on Tuesday in a caesarian section and weighing 4.3kg, has not yet been given a name or names.

The twins, currently in intensive care and dependent on oxygen, are reportedly the eighth and ninth children of the woman.

Photos show an apparently normal torso with two separate heads cramped together on the shoulders.

Medical officials said tests have revealed the baby has two functioning brains, each one controlling its respective side of the body.

In addition, the single torso is said to contain two hearts and two spinal cords.

Hospital staff said they have been inundated with calls and visits since the birth.

In July 2003, Iran was plunged into mourning after Ladan and Laleh Bijani, 29-year-old Iranian women fused at the head since birth, died during a daring operation in Singapore aimed at separating them.