According to the Daily Mail, a state investigation was initiated in Germany on the occasion of the birth of three unrelated children with deformed limbs in one hospital. Babies were born in the Sankt Marien Hospital in the city of Gelsenkirchen. Officials said they had not observed such cases for many years. Now there is a study of statistics in neighboring clinics in the area.
Authorities in the city of Gelsenkirchen, about 18 miles (30km) from Dortmund, are looking into possible causes of the birth defects. Two children were born with underdeveloped fingers and palms on their left hands and another child had the same problems on their right hand.
Officials in the North Rhine-Westphalia state said the abnormalities were 'conspicuous' and they come after a government investigation was launched in France last year after dozens of babies were born with deformed limbs.
Midwife Sonja Liggett-Igelmund was the first health worker to speak out about the strange cluster of cases. She suggested more babies may have been born with similar problems in the past but gone unnoticed, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.
In a statement on its website the St Marien Hospital said: 'In two of the affected children, the left hand was deformed – in normal forearm, the palms and fingers were rudimentary
Babies born with deformed arms or legs are described as having a congenital limb defect. This happens when the limb doesn't form properly in the uterus and can either be caused by factors outside of the mother or an internal illness or genetic disorder.
Source: Daily Mail, 09/16/2019