London - It's always exciting and emotional for parents to see that first image of their child in the womb.
Laura Thomas and her partner Matthew Tansley, however, had mixed feelings when their little boy appeared in a scan looking like an extra from a sci-fi movie.
The picture showed a 30-week-old Lucas glaring at the camera with bulging eyes and the outline of a bulbous brain – just like one of the invading aliens in the classic Tim Burton comedy Mars Attacks!
Laura, 26, from Bury, said: "When we saw the picture I thought to myself 'He doesn’t look too happy' and burst out laughing. His dad straight away said he looked like a Martian from Mars Attacks!"
The mother-of-three had a number of scans during her pregnancy because she was at risk of pre-eclampsia.
In one doctors found excess fluid on Lucas’ brain and decided to investigate with an MRI, which resulted in the image.
Lucas was born in April last year in good health, something confirmed by a recent round of tests. Laura said: "I’ve only decided to share the picture now because I’ve been waiting for the all clear. Now we know he’s fine we just want to make everyone else laugh."