A baby boy with two heads, sharing one body, was miraculously born healthy, but his parents, confident he would survive, refused further intensive care and ultimately died 32 hours later.

According to a report on the 4th in the UK’s Daily Star, a baby boy was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan, northern India, on the morning of the 3rd. The baby, the first child of a 20-year-old mother and 24-year-old father, had two heads, but doctors described his birth as a “miracle”, weighing 2.5kg.

The doctor who cared for the baby, Jaiprakasha Narayan, stated, “The baby had all the necessary organs in pairs, but they were trapped within a single body, making it impossible to separate the heads like in other conjoined twins.” Conjoined twins are twins born sharing a body, sometimes with only a single body or body parts attached.

The baby was born healthy, but due to the two heads sharing organs, he had breathing problems. So, the hospital said the baby needed intensive care and management, but the parents, confident the baby was healthy, took him home despite medical warnings.

The baby eventually returned home, but he suffered respiratory problems and died 32 hours after birth. The Daily Mail reported that the parents are devastated by the loss of their first child.

Meanwhile, a study by researchers at the University of Pune’s Department of Health Sciences in India found that approximately 2.2% of babies in India are born with congenital malformations.