LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - A Peruvian woman has given birth to a boy dubbed the "lobster baby" because of a rare condition in which his arms and legs are deformed and wrapped like claws around his body, doctors said on Friday.

One-month-old Moises Chavez, who was brought to Lima this week after he was born in Peru's central Andes, is one of only a few babies worldwide born with the defect in all four limbs, said Dr. Luis Rubio, who will lead the baby's long treatment.

The condition, known as arthrogryposis, or curvature of the joints, is found in one limb in about 1 in every 3,000 births in the United States. But experts in birth defects said Moises' situation was much less common.

"It's very rare that all four limbs should be affected," said Richard Leavitt, Director of Science Information at the U.S.-based National March of Dimes Foundation.

Rubio told Reuters that the amniotic bands within the mother's amniotic sack got tangled up around the fifth month of pregnancy, wrapping the baby in a mummy-like position and preventing his arms and legs from growing.

"His brain seems to be fine and his life's not in danger, so our goal is to give him the use of his hands and arms," Rubio said. "I'd love him to walk, but I just don't know," he told Reuters at the hospital run by Lima town hall where Moises will be treated.

Dark-haired Moises, who weighs 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) and is 13 inches (33 cm) long, cries and reacts to sound but his leg bones are bent at a 90-degree angle from his body, while his hands are distorted outward as his tiny elbows hug his chest.

Moises' mother, Marisol Chavez, 21, appealed for aid when he was born in the Andean village of San Jeronimo, 250 miles east of Lima.

"I hope he gets better. My wish is he can play and run with the other children in the street," said Chavez.

Moises' grandfather, Rodolfo Trinidad, 65, said the father has refused to recognize the baby. "He says it's not his, he's horrified," Trinidad said.

Rubio said funding for the treatment, which could last years, would initially come from the Lima town hall, although he may have to look for aid from abroad at a later stage.

"We need to do tests first. I've only had the baby in my care for the past 24 hours," Rubio said.

Rubio is also treating Milagros Cerron, dubbed the "Little Mermaid" because she was born with her legs fused and is one of only a handful of babies born sirenomelia, or mermaid syndrome who has lived more than a few hours.
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Poor kid... that would suck.

Poor little guy

You would be as well pulling the plug on him when he was born,what a poor life he will have from know

That's so sad that the dad is saying it isn't his. Pfft. >/

hes quiet right,

is there no way to correct the curvatures? it might not be possible to make him look "normal" but anything has to be better than loving like that

Well now, he doesn't seem as deformed as I thought he would he would be, but I do feel sorry for the lil guy. At least he's healthy.

That's depressing, he'll probably end up being ridiculed his whole life...

Right. That's sad. It may sound cruel to say this but I would've killed him before birth if I knew he was gonna be like this. Rude but is it THAT wrong with nowday's society?

An eternal controversy.

It's not that bad- far far far worse forms of deformity (ie: tumours, siamese twins, "mermaid" syndrome...)

the kid will be able to ;ive a normal life as he gets older.his condition can be surgically fixed.my heart still goes out to him.like to see our government,or an organization like the shriners send him over here so he can get the best doctors in the world.

Well hopefully she can get the money to pay for the surgery to make life easier for this poor little guy!

Werd. Not to be cruel but. Man the world is a cruel place.

Poor sweet little thing....

I was expecting a lot worse.

The baby doesn't look that bad, surely the surgeons are able to fix his joints and straighten out his limbs.

Lets hope someone will sponsor him to get the best care available.

I feel sorry for the little guy...I hope he can get some corrective surgery so he can walk and such. I personally could never get rid of a life no matter what they looked like.

"Right. That's sad. It may sound cruel to say this but I would've killed him before birth if I knew he was gonna be like this. Rude but is it THAT wrong with nowday's society?"


He's really a beautiful baby. It's horrifying to think someone would rather "put him out of his misery" than let him have a chance at life. Every life is valuable. Imagine if Stephen Hawking's or Helen Keller's or Ray Charles' parents had killed them because of their physical limitations.

^Amen to that.

I just had a baby boy 2 mos. ago, and if I heard people saying "I would've killed him before birth", I'd have a fit. Like Melladior, I believe every life is precious.

I think it's that "it's-not-normal-let's-get-rid-of-it" mindset combined with the "world's-goin-to-heck-anyway" mentality that lets the ridicule continue. If people realized that not everyone looks the same as you'd like them to, people who were blind, deaf, deformed, etc. *wouldn't* feel like they were lesser humans. Unfortunately, the world ain't perfect.

So far, this sweet little thing is relatively healthy and not in any pain, so it's not like he's suffering. And as someone above said, his limbs can be fixed. *begin sarcasm* And then, he'll look "normal". And then everyone would be happy, right?? *end sarcasm*

My few thoughts.

~Scarlet~

^Congratulations on your new baby!

His internal organs are functioning to the point that he's still alive. The doctors have no idea whether or not he is in pain.



How exactly do you reverse and re-build the ligaments, joints and cartilage of all four limbs?

SCARLET1: congrats on your baby.