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The pregnancy had appeared to be going ahead as normal before the woman suffered extreme pain as she went into labour.

The baby was born with a rare birth defect, called an encephalocele, at a health centre in Etah in the country’s Uttar Pradesh district, on July 11.

Doctors were surprised to find the woman, from nearby Pilua, had given birth to a baby girl who had two large protrusions coming out of the back of her head.

A witness Bijji Thakur, present at the birth, said: “The girl child had three heads.

“She looked like an alien.”

The baby has now been moved to the District Hospital in Etah that has more sophisticated facilities.

She will have an MRI scan before doctors operate.

Rajesh Thakur, Chief Medical Superintendent at the Etah District Hospital, said doctors would look to separate the heads.

(Image: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/NEWSLIONS) (Image: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/NEWSLIONS) (Image: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/NEWSLIONS)

The condition is rare but many cases have been reported especially in Africa and it is caused by the skull not forming correctly.

Babies diagnosed with encephalocele have a 55% survival rate but those who do make it often suffer further complications later on with 75% of survivors suffering mental illnesses.

Surgeons in India successfully operated on a child with two heads last March at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

After fearing that he could not afford the treatment, his father tried to bury the baby alive before it was rescued by police.