Baby born without skull dies in mother's arms

A 19-year-old mother from a poor family in Selapajang subdistrict, Neglasari district, Tangerang, cried continuously from the time her son was born at midnight on Monday until the baby died at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

For Tuti's 3.2 kilogram baby boy was born without skull.

"I can't understand why my baby was born in such a bad way. What's wrong with me and my husband?" Tuti asked tearfully on the afternoon her baby died.

She said that her husband, Wahyu, 22, a vendor in Wedan market in Selapajang, was not at home when their baby died.

"He's visiting his parents in Kronjo district, Tangerang, to tell them about the birth of our first baby," she explained.

Many curious neighbors came to see the baby and most of them donated money to the unfortunate parents.

According to Tuti's father, Hasan, 40, the baby was born in their 4 meter by 6 meter house at midnight with the help of a local shaman.

Tangerang municipality health agency director Nuriman Machyudin told The Jakarta Post that as far as he knew there had been only 20 babies born in the country without skulls in the past few decades, and that they generally only survived for between three and five hours.

He said that such deformities could be caused by genetic factors or malnutrition.--JP