She was excited to find out the gender of her baby, but her 20 week scan left her worried

Finding out the gender of a baby is an exciting time for any soon-to-be parent.

From choosing names to buying tiny outfits, mums and dads can start picturing their little one as they prepare for their new life together.

But that wasn’t the case for Leia Johnson. The expectant mum was given terrifying news at her 20-week scan.

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Leia, from Cheadle Hulme, was looking forward to discovering whether her child was a boy or a girl when she learned the baby’s foot hadn’t fully formed.

The mum-of-three was told the infant either didn’t have a foot or would likely need an amputation very young, leading to her seeking a second opinion.

Leia, 39, paid for a private ultrasound which showed the unborn tot had four toes, giving her hope that everything would be fine.

But when she gave birth to her daughter River-Lucia, it was quickly discovered the youngster had a condition so rare it affects just one in 40,000 births.

Fibular hemimelia is where a baby is born without part or all of the fibula, one of the bones in the lower leg. This can lead to differences in leg length and foot development, making it difficult for a child to walk.

Leia, who owns a cleaning business, can recall the moment she was given the news. “When everyone else gets excited about finding out whether it’s a boy or a girl, we were given health scares,” she told the Manchester Evening News.

“The first thing I did, it’s sad to say, was to turn to the internet. I typed in the condition and I clicked on images.

“It’s quite sad to think back, but I did do that. I had never even heard of it. I wasn’t getting normal images. The first image I came across was a child