In an extremely rare case, a baby girl with a severe congenital disorder and almost all the outer skin of her body was born at Nagpur hospital on June 11.
In medical parlance, this condition is called Harelquin Ichthyosis and was first recorded in India.
But just two days after birth, the baby died, Hindustan Times reported.
‘Harlequin babies’ – that’s what babies with this genetic disorder are called – passed away on Monday night. She had breathing problems since morning and was placed on a ventilator.
The baby was only shown to the mother on Monday afternoon and in the presence of a psychiatrist. The woman reportedly broke down upon seeing her.
Born into a farmer’s family in Amravati, Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, the baby was born prematurely with tough skin.
The hard surface covering the baby’s body had many cracks and the baby weighed 1.8 kg at birth. The girl has no ears, is completely blind despite having two bright red bulges in the eye position, only two small holes in the nose and inverted eyelids.
Such children tend to get infections quickly. The longest survivor with this condition is baby Shaheen born in 1984 in Pakistan. According to the latest medical records, she survived at least until 24 years old.