Baby born with two heads

Surgeons in China say a baby girl born with two heads cannot be separated.

Bao Qiaoying, 25, gave birth to the two-headed baby at Suining, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Doctors at Suining Central Hospital said it was extremely rare to see a baby with two heads, and it was the first such case in China.

Bao was living in Guangdong Province as a migrant worker when she became pregnant. Her first scan found the baby to be normal.

Bao then went back to her home in Suining with her husband, Liao Guojun, to prepare for the birth of their first child.

A second scan also suggested the baby was normal but after a third scan last week, doctors told her "the fetus has two heads, and one body".

"My husband and I immediately went to the central hospital for another checkup and colour Doppler imaging confirmed my baby has two heads but one body," said Bao.

Reluctantly, the couple decided to abort the fetus but Bao went into labour shortly after arriving at Suining Central Hospital for the termination.

"It would have been too dangerous to go ahead with the abortion with the mother in labour so we advised them to give birth to the baby," said Doctor Zhang Libin.

Doctors delivered the baby by c-section. Tests showed the little girl also has two spines and one and a half hearts, while other organs are shared.

"We couldn't do a separation surgery on the baby. They must live together," added Doctor Zhang.