A mother in Israel was shocked to know that her newborn baby had a 'twin' foetus inside her stomach. The doctors from Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod, initially thought that there was some problem with the child after performing a late-pregnancy ultrasound on the mother, reported the The Times of Israel.
In the X-ray report doctors found that the child's abdomen was larger than the normal size. However, after the baby girl was born the doctors performed numerous tests like ultrasounds and X-rays after which a partially developed fetus inside the baby's abdomen was found.
Later an operation was performed by the medics on the child and the foetus was successfully removed.
The baby girl, who is yet to be identified is said to be out of danger and recovering well after being discharged by the hospital.
Known as 'fetus in fetu' (FIF), a developmentally abnormal foetus is found inside the body of its otherwise healthy twin, according to Live Science, reported The Times of Israel.
A report published in the Live Science in 2010 says that it is an extremely rare condition, occurring in about 1 in 500,000 births.
Scientists, who are still struggling to find out the exact cause for the abnormal condition say it is a rare type of "parasitic twin."
A parasitic twin forms during an identical-twin pregnancy when one of the foetus is absorbed by the other.
"The fetus inside partially develops but does not live and remains there," said Dr Omer Globus, director of neonatology at Assuta Medical Center, as reported by The Times of Israel.
There is another theory that says FIF is a type of a tumor that can contain all three of the major cell types that are found in an early-stage human embryo.