Two-headed baby abandoned

I live in the United States and we get abandoned babies in my area all the time. Usually they are dead. There's a local organization that just makes sure the little corpses get treated "properly" and get buried. I suspect this sort of thing happens everywhere.

I apologize Gwenny... the statement "China has some serious issues" was a bit vague. I am not insinuating that the U.S. or anywhere else does not have child abandonment issues, but ours are mainly centered around mental disease, drug addiction, prostitution, and little girls who are scared of their parents. China's "issues" are not so much social as governmental. If you have one shot at a healthy child, you don't want it to have two heads. I have read reports of women having abortions after receiving an ultrasound that identifies the gender of the child as female(everyone wants a boy). It is entirely possible that the mother of this abandoned baby had every intention of keeping and raising it, but when faced with the child's birth defect, had second thoughts. She is only allowed one. Actually, the fact that the child was discovered alive may not be too miraculous. It is rumored that when a woman gives birth to a child they are not supposed to have, or they want another shot at a healthier one, they will "abandon" it in a predetermined location, where another member of the community with "discover" it a short time later- unharmed. So while everyone may have "issues", the ones in China are not the norm.

China still has that one child policy, I think. While abandoning the baby is truly an inhuman act, I'm guessing that the people in the smaller regions in particular have lived with such an ungodly culture for centuries that their daily survival is a challenge. Will the government assist this child? Are special needs children or even people really a priority in China? Remind me why this country has favored nation status.

I'm guessing that the people in the smaller regions in particular have lived with such an ungodly culture for centuries that their daily survival is a challenge.

Wow, you win for the most moronic statement I have read in weeks. What an abysmal lack of understanding of other cultures, and your own, you have shown. Good job!

Thanks Gwenny, but I can't imagine what you find so offensive. It is exactly because of China's culture and their history of human rights violations and their one child policy, I think some understanding must be extended to its people with respect to what we, in this country, and rightly so, find so abhorrent. That there continues to be international pressure for social change in China, urging China's government to uphold its human rights obligations can't be denied. To think that it doesn't play a role in the lives of the suppressed is more than naive, it's blind.

You don't understand what is not only offensive but hypocritical about using this child abandonment as a reason to look down on them when "according to a CNN review of FBI statistics, nearly five infants under the age of one are killed in the U.S. each week" ^[*] and "the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 30,905 babies were abandoned nationwide in 1998"?^[**]

And you claim their "ungodly culture" has existed for centuries (communism is less than a century old, in case you slept that day in history class) .

I don't know who stepped on your tail to make you growl! That said, ungodly has many definitions; in this instance, dreadful may have been more appropriate.

By the way, you can't see my hair today, can you? Because it is an ungodly mess! Gwenny, your comments are well appreciated though that delivery needs work. Be well.

::raises one eyebrow and sighs::

I provide you with links and data to show you why I'm upset and you decide to focus on one word which MIGHT have not meant what I thought it did. You don't bother to defend your xenophobia and American arrogance. Kthxbai

#4: "...how do they know (why do they assume) it was the MOTHER that discarded him,"

Good question, actually. All we do know is that someone abandoned him... and the natural assumption is that at least one of the parents would have to have known... I'm going to go out on a limb and hazard a guess that it may well have been the father who did it, because the mother may very well have been too incapacitated to do so. I wonder if we will ever know...

The only family member who can be certifiably linked to the birth is the mother.

Observe that we are not describing a local birth. The baby was probably not born in a hospital. Since we do not know the situation, we cannot conclude that the father or any extended family was present. It's likely there were others in attendance, whether family members, the father, a midwife, etc. But, strictly speaking, none of those people necessarily had to be there for childbirth to occur. The only person known to be present was the mother. Thus, she remains the ideal starting point for an investigation.

The only person known to be present was the mother. Thus, she remains the ideal starting point for an investigation.

sure it is...assuming you are completely unversed in womens anatomy, medicine, and OB-GYN. one look at this baby tells me that the mother is dead somewhere, or dying. and that the baby didnt get were it was found, by itself. instead of looking at the mother as a suspect, anyone who was being honest (instead of displaying misogynist bias) would be looking for her as a victim, whose baby was taken from her by an unknown third party, and an injured person in need of medical care.

@factcheckme: I don't know who you're angry with, but I don't think it should be me. I don't think of myself as the misogynist you seem to.

My use of the word "investigation" was meant in the literal way. I am not saying that a posse should be formed to round up the mother for speedy prosecution of a crime.

What I'm saying is that a baby abandoned in a ditch is worthy of an "investigation," if for no other reason than to identify the baby. Since there is also evidence of a crime taken place (I doubt abandoning a baby is any more legal in China than it is here), some person(s) are accountable. But not everyone interviewed by police are done so because they are suspects, nor are they immediately charged with a crime. Interviewing the mother seems a pretty essential part of getting to the bottom of the story of the baby in the ditch.

If I've annoyed you by failing to congratulate you on a good point, that is that the birth of such an abnormal child likely led to complications during pregnancy, I apologize. Let me do so belatedly. You were also wise to point out that I'm not an obstetrician. Still, despite my technical limitations I do not believe the mother's death is a foregone conclusion.* She may have survived. However, she is likely to be in need of medical attention herself - making my whole bit about the need to "investigate" her situation all the more pressing.

Newsvine is often the center of a lot of acrimony, but it doesn't have to be. Just because I wrote words does not mean I disagree with you. I take offense at your accusation of misogyny. I don't demand an apology, or anything. My skin is tough. But just so you know, you're capable of misreading people.

*Are there no cases of mothers who survived vaginal birth of conjoined twins before modern medicine? Frankly, I don't know. But I assume it is at least possible.

Hi factcheckme.

Curious...why would finding the baby in that condition lead someone to believe that the mother is dead or severely injured?

<<Honest question, no sarcasm>>

because it has two heads, al616. one is hard enough to pass, and easily causes tearing. this child had TWO HEADS, one on the back of the other. theres very little chance that the baby was delivered without serious injury to the mother, or a c-section, which is major surgery. whichever it was, it probably wasnt done in a hospital, or the baby wouldnt have been found outside in a ditch. my first thought was for the mothers health.

I would be curious to know what area of China that this happened in and if they have isolated villages. Could it be possible that a very superstitious family abandoned the baby thinking it was a bad omen or something? People's religious and spiritual beliefs cause them to do terrible damage to their children sometimes.

Then there's the flip side of that. There was the baby girl in India who was born with two faces and I think I remember her parents refusing to have any of the facial features removed because they thought she was the reincarnation of an Indian Goddess.

thanks, for the explanation!

: )

#8: "As long as China maintains its 'One Child Policy', it will continue."

That actually sums it up quite neatly. For China. But stuff like this happens everywhere. As far as I am concerned, there is just no excuse for what was done. Explanations? Yes. Excuses? No.

yeah, thats one problem china has...and i am sorry, but i think environmental pollution is (potentially) an issue here as well? who the @!$%# has two-headed babies? its like something from a horror movie, or the simpsons.

It also could have been twins that were unable to properly separate, like Siamese Twins.

i have never seen another case of a conjoined "twin" that was just a head, without a body, although admittedly i havent gone looking. thats why it made me think of a geneic mutation related to environmental pollution. conjoined twins are a problem of cell-separation, where two fully or mostly-formed bodies are unable to seperate. theres also fetus-in-fetu where the malformed/unformed "twin" grows inside the other. but a two-headed baby is just beyond my understanding of unsuccessful twinning. anyone know for sure?

Okay, those are likely the scariest pictures I have EVER SEEN. Those poor little things.

Yep, happens all the time. Often the person doesn't ever realize s/he is carrying the remains of a twin. My sister had a tumorous ovary removed 20 years ago. It was her twin. And there was guy who carried his twin around for 40 years.

It's called "vanishing twin syndrome is thought to happen in about 25-30% of multiple pregnancies, according to the American Pregnancy Association. One twin or multiple is miscarried and then absorbed by the mother, the placenta, or sometimes the other twin."

vanishing twin = fetus in fetu. but i am afraid to look at the pics. are they of vanishing twins, or two-headed babies? because i still dont think they are the same thing. i THINK parasitic twins = vanishing twins = fetus in fetu. i dont think an attached head can be a parasite, can it? for example, with fetus in fetu, the twin is a parasite beause its seperate from its host AND it sends out umbilical-like filaments that literally leech nutrients from the host. whereas an attached head isnt seperate, and its not leeching, if it shares structures and systems.

These types of anomalies occur a lot more often than people think. We just hear about it more because of the way news is distributed. Places in the world that used to be very isolated are now coming to the attention of the rest of the world because of the internet. We also are more willing to let it come out into the open, as well. There was a time when if a baby like this was born doctors and hospital staff would actually encourage letting the child die and would be willing to name a legitimate cause of death. In the 1920's my grandmother gave birth to a baby girl born with only half her skull, she just had skin covering her brain. She likely suffered terrible damage while she was being born. The doctors told my grandparents to just leave her in the nursury for a few hours and let nature take its course, since she wasn't likely to survive anyway. They followed the doctor's advice and she died the same day.

There is a case of a baby having been born with two heads in the states. They have been featured several times on Discovery, as well as TLC, and a couple of other stations. They have one body, and share several organs, but also have their seperate organs.

Stephen King's novel The Dark Half began with a little boy whose absorbed twin was removed from his brain.

#8.11: "Stephen King's novel The Dark Half began with a little boy whose absorbed twin was removed from his brain."

There was also an episode of "House" where a boy had an absorbed twin. It was spooky, as it began with the boy "seeing" grey aliens...

I haven't watched Dark Half yet, but I plan to.

I saw that episode of House (gotz it on DVD 2!), and I was freaked at first. LOL

Medically speaking....it's just off with his (extra) head), then, & he's fine? How does something like that be corrected w/o killing the person?

China

Standard procedure.
I read a story about an American couple walking through a forest and heard baby cries. They found the baby and took it to a hospital and were REBUKED.

I would be interested in reading that story, Koobee. Can you link it or provide any information to find it?

Please and thank you!

Awww, poor little guy. never had a chance to live... :`(

Irene
This happens all the time in China.

I read a story years ago written by a Chinese doctor at an abortion clinic. If the baby is not DOA, they will bury it alive.

Another, try thousands.

They treat dogs and cats like vermin.
If you watch the you tube videos on dogs and cats in Asian countries, you will never buy anything from them again. Sort of like the dolphin slaughter video.
They don't seem to get human dignity. Or respect for creatures.

While I think that treating cats, dogs and dolphins that was is horrible... different societies view animals in different ways. Take cows for example. They are kept in farms and milked (not always in human conditions) and the bulls are slaughtered for meat. In India, however, that is illegal in most parts of the country and they look down on how others treat them. Its all about different cultures.

nephthys

Abuse is abuse. PERIOD.

You must be a vegetarian