Incarnation Of Goddess Or Genetic Anomaly? Baby Girl Born With 14 Fingers & 12 Toes In Rajasthan

A baby girl in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur was born with 14 fingers and 12 toes. She has seven fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. 

While the family believes the girl to be an incarnation of a Goddess, she has a rare condition known as Polydactyly, a genetic, congenital abnormal disorder. 

What is Polydactyly? 

Polydactyly is a condition in which a baby is born with one or more extra fingers. The extra fingers are usually small and abnormally developed.
It is a common condition that often runs in families. 

In fact, it is one of the most common congenital (present at birth) hand abnormalities. 

Doctors said that the baby girl was born at eight months to 25-year-old Sarju. 

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Having extra fingers is not harmful in any way to the child, but it remains a congenital defect. The baby is perfectly healthy,” Dr BS Saini, a paediatrician at the local government hospital, told reporters. 

For most children, Polydactyly is a genetic (inherited) trait. 

Who does polydactyly affect? 

Polydactyly can affect any newborn baby. 

According to studies, African-American and Asian babies are ten times more likely than white ones to be born with polydactyly. Further, male infants are more likely to be born with polydactyly than females. 

Moreover, a child might be more likely to develop it if there is a family history of genetic disorders. 

However, having extra fingers or toes does not necessarily lead to developmental disorders or other conditions. 

Why do genetic abnormalities like Polydactyly happen? 

Disruptions to a baby’s genes cause polydactyly while they are developing. 

Genes are the biological building blocks that parents pass down to their children, which contain instructions for the growth and function of each cell in your body. 

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So if a baby is born with polydactyly, then probably the genes responsible for developing the baby’s limbs, hands and feet have been affected. 

How can Polydactyly be treated? 

Polydactyly can be treated by removing the extra limb from your child’s hand or foot. 

Surgery includes tying a tight string or band around the base of the extra finger that cuts off its blood supply. A week or two later, the extra finger will fall off. 

The process does not endanger blood flow to the other fingers.   

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