No, a baby is not typically born with two hearts.
While it's a common question, the human anatomy generally doesn't allow for a baby to develop with two fully functional hearts. With the exception of conjoined twins, a human being is born with one heart.
Understanding Heart Duplication
- Conjoined Twins: In rare cases, conjoined twins may share organs, including the heart. Each twin might have its own heart, or they might share a single heart. However, these are exceptions and not the norm.
- Heterotopic Heart Transplant: It's important to distinguish between a baby born with two hearts versus a heart transplant procedure where a second heart is grafted onto the first (heterotopic heart transplant). This procedure is performed on patients with severe heart failure, and is not something a baby is born with. The recipient retains the original heart.
Development and Single Heart
Normally, during embryonic development, the heart forms from a single cardiac tube that folds and divides into the four chambers. Errors in this process can lead to various congenital heart defects, but not the development of a second, fully functional heart.
