Sad! INDIAN CONJOINED TWINS BORN WITH TWO HEADS AND ONE BODY DIE AT 20 DAYS OLD - BEFORE THEIR MOTHER EVEN GOT CHANCE TO MEET THEM

The Indian conjoined twins born with one body and two heads have died after battling to survive for a remarkable 20 days.

The babies, born by C-section weighed 7lbs 7oz when they were born on March 13th.

They were born with one body, two heads, two necks, two spines and two separate oesophaguses and trachea. But they had only one heart and stomach and one lung each.

Tragically, their mother Urmila Sharma, 28, decided she could not bear to meet her babies at all before they died.

The twins' father, Subhash, 32, said: ‘The news did not come as a shock but we were still devastated. 

'They were very special babies. Even though doctors had told us that they had minimal chances of survival, we hoped they’d live.

The Indian conjoined twins born with one body and two heads have died after battling to survive for a remarkable 20 days

Mother Urmila Sharma, 28, decided she could not bear to meet her babies at all before they died. The twins' father, Subhash, 32, said: The news did not come as a shock, but we were still devastated'

Doctors treating the twins say they suffered respiratory problems and died of heart failure

Dr Shikha Malik, who delivered the twins, said: 'Although we suspected they wouldn¿t survive because of their medical complexities, we were still hoping we could save them'

'I wanted to raise them and for our daughter to have sisters but God had a different plan. The fact they survived for 20 days was even a miracle.'

Dr Shikha Malik, who delivered the babies in Sonipat, northern India, said at first that while one baby was sleeping, one was - remarkably - crying.  

After two days, the babies were transferred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Delhi, and were under close observation in the neonatal intensive care unit.

But Dr Minu Bajpai, paediatric surgeon in charge of the babies while they were at the hospital, explained: ‘In the end the baby's heart was too weak.

'They suffered respiratory problems from the moment they arrived with us, and they just seemed to deteriorate as each day passed. In the end it was their heart that gave up and they died of heart failure.’

Mrs Sharma, who already has a three-year-old daughter Shalini, chose to not meet her babies while they were alive. 

Her husband said: 'I went to Delhi last week and brought my daughters’ bodies home on April 2. My wife is still trying to cope with the loss.

'She could not take them in her arms and cuddle them when they were alive. She had accepted their fate but being a mother, it’s still hard to accept their death. 

'She’s very emotional and she’s crying inconsolably. She wanted her babies to live so much and now they’re gone she is very lost.’

He said that they’d both struggled to come to terms with their daughters’ extraordinary condition.

‘It was very painful for both my wife and I to see them battling with life. Now I feel they have been set free. I buried them myself, according to Hindu rituals, but my wife couldn’t face it.’

Now, the family will try and pick up the piece of the sadness of the last month.

He added: 'We can never forget our babies; they will always be in our hearts. But we hope that our next baby will be born normal. 

'I will make sure that if my wife gets pregnant again, she gets proper medical assistance throughout the pregnancy so that we’re more prepared next time.' 

Dr Malik added: 'Although we suspected they wouldn’t survive because of their medical complexities, we were still hoping we could save them. 

I was shocked they had lasted longer than 24 hours never mind surviving for 20 days. I hope the parents can recover from this sadness and pick themselves up again.'