This is the fragile ‘real life China doll’ who survived against the odds despite being born with 30 broken bones.

Millie Simpson, from Cheshire, has such a rare form of brittle bone disease that her bones were broken in the womb every time her mother moved during pregnancy.

Doctors picked up the condition on pregnancy scans.

They could see that she had broken every bone in her body – and told her devastated parents that it was unlikely that she would survive the birth.

Millie Simpson has such a rare form of brittle bone disease that she broke her bones in the womb every time her mother moved during pregnancy

Before she was born doctors could see she had broken every bone in her body – and told her devastated parents that it was unlikely that she would survive the birth

Mrs Simpson was offered a termination – but she refused and told doctors she wanted to give her baby a chance.

Amazingly Millie, who has just celebrated her second birthday, was born alive and was able to breathe, despite her ribs being broken, and she is now going from strength to strength.

But she is so fragile that she still cannot stand on her own feet – because they would break with her weight.

Mrs Simpson said: ‘She is like a real life china doll. Her bones are so fragile that they break with just the slightest touch.

‘But she is getting stronger each day with the calcium treatment she is having. And she has such a huge personality.

Millie’s mother Stevie was offered a termination – but she refused and told doctors she wanted to give her baby a chance

‘We are so proud of her. She has defied the doctors to have survived like this – she is such a little fighter.’

Mrs Simpson was 34 weeks pregnant when doctors first noticed a problem with her unborn baby.

They were concerned that she was small and wasn’t growing properly, so she was referred to Chester Hospital for a scan.

The scan showed that her arms and legs were small and initially doctors thought Millie was suffering from a form of dwarfism.

Mrs Simpson, 23, a warehouse assistant, who lives in Ellesmere Port with husband Tyler, 27, a chemical plant technician and their other daughter Lottie, also two, said: ‘Initially the doctors thought she had dwarfism which was a shock.

‘I knew that my pregnancy bump wasn’t as big as it had been with my first pregnancy, but I had never imagined anything could be seriously wrong.’

Mrs Simpson was referred to the Liverpool Women’s Hospital four days later where another scan revealed the breaks all over her tiny body – in her back, arms and legs.

She was diagnosed with a case of brittle bone disease that was so severe that it had begun in the womb.

Doctors broke the devastating news to her parents that it was life- threatening as it was likely that Millie wouldn’t be able to breathe on her own when she was born because of her broken ribs.

Mrs Simpson said: ‘We were devastated when we were told what Millie had. It was such a severe case that she had broken every bone in her body.

‘The scan showed that some of the breaks had healed, and some of them hadn’t. And in some of the bones, there were several breaks at a time.

‘It was so upsetting to know that every time she had moved around in my womb, it had caused her bones to break.’

Mrs Simpson was 34 weeks pregnant when doctors first noticed a problem with her unborn baby. They had originally thought it was dwarfism

The family, including mother Stevie, father Tyler, and Millie’s big sister Lottie (right), now call her their ‘little miracle’

The doctors then offered to carry out a termination as Millie’s case was so severe. She had broken ribs, which would mean she would be unable to breathe on her own. But her brave parents refused, determined to give their unborn daughter a chance at life.

Mrs Simpson said: ‘There was no way that we were going to end our daughter’s life like that. We had to give her a chance.’

Millie was born by caesarian and amazingly despite her broken ribs, she was able to breathe.

Mrs Simpson said: ‘She let out a cry when she was born, and it was the most amazing thing. She came out fighting, and we were just so relieved that we had given her that chance to live. There was no way that she was giving up.’

Millie continued to make progress and after three weeks she was allowed home from hospital. She has had to have calcium treatments every few weeks and intensive physiotherapy to strengthen her bones.

She could not sit up until she was eight months old, and since her birth she has broken her arms and legs several times and broken her jaw. She has broken bones just by rolling over, or by someone lightly touching her.

Mrs SImpson said: ‘Her bones are extremely fragile and she can’t stand up as she can’t put her weight on her feet. It’s a daunting task for her but we are hoping that she will be able to walk one day.

‘Watching her improve each day is so rewarding. She has such a huge personality and we are so proud of her.

‘She may be a real life china doll but she has such a fighting spirit. She could have given up with all those broken bones in the womb, but she didn’t. She’s our little miracle.’

– Daily Mail UK