Baby born with four arms and four legs

Liz Braun - Yesterday .


Some believe an infant born with four arms and four legs to be a reincarnation of the many-armed Hindu goddess Lakshmi, seen here in a painted carving located in a Tamil temple of Mauritius

A baby born in India with an extra set of arms and legs is being hailed as a miracle.

The New York Post reports that the child, who has four arms and four legs thanks to an extra set of limbs attached to the abdomen, has attracted a religious following among people who believe the infant to be a reincarnation of the many-armed Hindu goddess Lakshmi.

Lakshmi oversees all manner of prosperity, including wealth, beauty and fertility.

The baby was born in the small town of Hardoi, in Uttar Pradesh, and the family of the child say they have been blessed by the gods.

The baby weighed 6.5 pounds (3 kilograms) at birth and both the mother and the child have been declared healthy.

The medical term for the baby’s extra (but unusable) limbs is polymelia. It is extremely rare in humans and seen more often in animals.

Limb anomalies are sometimes genetic, but there are other causes (vitamin deficiencies; drugs such as thalidomide).

In some cases, the extra limbs are the result of a conjoined twin scenario in which only one twin develops fully. The one who stops developing is essentially absorbed by the other twin.

Children born with extra fingers or limbs can usually have them surgically removed.