In a rather rare phenomenon, a mother gave birth to a baby with three-heads in northern India.

The incident took place on July 11 at a primary health centre in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district.

The pregnant mother, from the district's Pilua village, was admitted to the health centre after she suffered pains on July 11. However, the family members and the doctors were in for a shock when she delivered a baby with three heads.

Apart from the normal head, the neonate had protrusions-like structures around its neck.

"The girl child had three heads. She looked like an alien," said Bijji Thakur, who witnessed this rare medical event.

Moreover, doctors said they were baffled to see the woman deliver the abnormal child despite undergoing a normal pregnancy.

She was later referred to the District Hospital in Etah as the primary health centre lacked proper medical facilities.

Doctors said that they would conduct a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan to determine the exact medical condition of the new-born.

"This is a very rare medical condition, due to which her body is not properly developed. We will perform an MRI scan and then perform a surgery to separate the heads," said Rajesh Thakur, Chief Medical Superintendent, District Hospital, Etah.

Although such a medical condition is less heard of in India, such cases have been reported worldwide, especially in African nations.

These medical conditions are referred to as Encephalocele, a neural tube defect characterized by sac-like protrusions of the brain and the membranes that cover it through openings in the skull. These defects are caused by the failure of the neural tube to close completely during fetal development.

According to reports, babies diagnosed with encephalocele have a 55 per cent survival rate. The long-term prognosis for survival becomes less likely if there are other complications, such as associated defects or syndromes or if brain tissue protrudes into the sac. Approximately 75 per cent of these infants who do survive have varying degrees of mental deficit.

Earlier on March 4, an expert team of neuro-surgeons at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) successfully operated on an infant with two heads.

According to reports, the father of the newborn had tried to bury him alive, fearing he would not be able to afford his treatment.

He was rescued by police near Nowhatta town in Jammu and Kashmir.

Doctors were able to separate the abnormal brain from the normal brain, along with skin after three-hours of laborious surgery.

The baby was later adopted by his uncle.

In yet another instance, a five-month-old infant, suffering from occipital encephalocele, got a new life after the giant protrusions around his head were removed following surgery in Sapthagiri Hospital in Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka state.