A young South African woman in her 20s has given birth to an 80-year-old looking baby.
The scary-looking creature is a rare condition called Progeria. The mother delivered the baby in her home in Libode in the Eastern Cape.
Research reveals that children born with Progeria also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome or HGPS age rapidly after birth.
At birth, they look healthy but as they become older, the rapid ageing becomes more obvious.
The unusual look of the child has elicited mixed reactions on social media. While some sympathise with the confused parents, others liken the baby to an ape.
Reports say she was born normal but within days of birth, started showing signs she was different from other babies.
The development got midwives and the grandmother worried, prompting them to move her to a hospital as her hand had become deformed and her skin wrinkled.
“When she was in labour, we called an ambulance but it took long to come,” the grandmother said. So she gave birth here at home. But the delivery got complicated and we hired a van to take her to hospital.
“We were told there that she’s disabled. I noticed during her birth that there was something strange with her. She did not cry and she was breathing through the ribs. I was shocked because that was strange. Now I hear that people are calling her names. That hurts a lot. If I had means, I would put all of them in jail.”
Reacting to the situation, the Director of the children’s rights organisation, Khula Community Development Project, Petros Majola, believes communities need to be educated about this condition.
According him, “Communities must know that the mother did not apply for her baby to be like this. In a woman’s womb, there is no construction or factory that builds babies. People need to embrace this child for she is.”
Medical experts say the genetic condition occurs randomly and is not inherited. Doctor Martha Mayer, a neonatologist at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital also said the syndrome is very rare .
According to him, “Progeria is a genetic condition that makes the baby age faster. Another thing is that these children also develop heart diseases and their life span is very short. We have never had a chid with that condition in this hospital. It is very rare, maybe it happens to one in four or eight million people,” the medical expert said.
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Young Woman Gives Birth to 80-Year-Old Looking Baby