A NEW mum has given 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 girl who looks even older than her due to a rare condition.

The 20-year-old woman gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to a girl with the rare “Benjamin Button” condition, also called Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, that causes sufferers to age faster than usual.

The 20-year-old mum gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 with the rare Hutchinson-Gilford syndromeCredit: Newsflash

The condition causes premature aging and affects infants under the age of twoCredit: Newsflash

Similarly to Brad Pitt’s character on the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the little girl was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 with deformed hands and wrinkled skin.

The syndrome, also called progeria, is a genetic condition that affects 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren under two years old and causes premature aging.

The South African family was left devastated after snaps of the infant were shared online and sick trolls commented that she looked like “an old woman”.

According to local media the young woman gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 at her home on Monday in the small town of Libode.

An ambulance failed to arrive on time and the new mum with her daughter were taken to hospital after the 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡.

The 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦’s grandmother said: “We were told there that she’s disabled. I noticed during her 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 that there was something strange with her. She did not cry and she was breathing through her ribs.

“I was shocked because that was strange. Now I hear that people are calling her names. That hurts a lot. If I had means, I would put all of them in jail.”

Children diagnosed with progeria tend to die of arteriosclerosis at an average age of just 14.5 years.

The Progeria Research Foundation has estimated that 132 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren and young adults have Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome across the world.

The 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 girl was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in Libode, Eastern Cape on MondayCredit: Newsflash

What is the Benjamin Button syndrome?

The Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, (HGPS) otherwise known as “Benjamin Button syndrome” is a rare and fatal genetic condition.

Progeria causes accelerated ageing, with sufferers commonly displaying ailments associated with old age.

The Progeria Foundation says: “Children with Progeria begin to display many characteristics of accelerated ageing within the first two years of life.

“Progeria signs include growth failure, loss of body fat and hair, aged-looking skin, stiffness of joints, hip dislocation, generalized atherosclerosis, cardiovascular (heart) disease and stroke.

“The 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren have a remarkably similar appearance, despite differing ethnic backgrounds. Children with Progeria die of atherosclerosis (heart disease) at an average age of fourteen years.”

People with progeria often have small, frail frames compared to their heads, and have a distinctive appearance of a shallow jaw and pinched nose.

There is no cure for the condition which despite being genetic it is not inherited.

It is caused by a mutation in the gene called LMNA.

Source: thesun