Emanoela Pereira da Rosa, 29, was caught completely off guard during her first detailed pregnancy ultrasound.

Instead of hearing from the doctor that everything looked fine and being asked whether she wanted to find out her baby’s sex, she received an unexpected request: to return and repeat the examination the following week.

At 13 weeks, her daughter was diagnosed with Tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare condition in which a baby is born without arms and legs. The condition is extremely uncommon, occurring in around one in every 5 million pregnancies.

Three months after her daughter’s birth, Emanoela decided to share the baby’s daily routine on TikTok and quickly gained thousands of followers. Today, she has become an inspiration to many mothers facing similar challenges. Speaking to VivaBem, she said:

“I had always dreamed of becoming a mother. And although Ayla was not planned, I was incredibly happy from the very first moment I learned she was on the way.

“My pregnancy was very peaceful, and I hardly felt pregnant at all. I did not have morning sickness or feel anything unusual. But I discovered that something might not be developing as expected when I went for my detailed ultrasound at 12 weeks.

“During the examination, the doctor told me she could not clearly see Ayla’s face and asked me to return the following week. I believe she may already have suspected what she was seeing, but wanted to be certain before sharing the news.

“I returned the following week and was told that my daughter had not developed her limbs, neither her little arms nor her legs.

“I began researching Tetra-amelia syndrome and started therapy to help me process the information. At first, I only told my family. I did not want curious people asking questions while we were still preparing ourselves for our baby’s arrival.

“I gradually understood that, despite her condition, my daughter could still do many things for herself, although some would be more challenging. That did not mean she would behave differently. Understanding this helped me greatly. I researched people with limb differences on social media, spoke with them and began learning more about the condition.

“Ayla was born and went to the NICU because she needed oxygen and time to gain weight. She stayed there for 15 days, but after three…

“And the treatment really is working. She is now six months old, and just over a month ago she stopped using the feeding tube she had relied on and began managing to eat by herself.

“Every day brings a new challenge because Ayla has either a medical appointment or therapy. My life has changed completely, and I do everything I can for her. I have a shop and am gradually returning to work. My sister looked after the business while I was away. And, of course, Ayla comes with me…

“At first, I did not want to share my daughter online. Not because I was ever ashamed of her — something I could never be — but because people can be very unkind. But after about three months, I changed my mind.

“Today, my TikTok account has almost 100,000 followers. There, I share a little of Ayla’s daily routine. And it has been such a positive experience. I found people with the same condition, was able to connect with more families, and show that she is a normal, capable child, regardless of her differences.

“After I began documenting our journey online, many mothers reached out to tell me they were going through similar experiences and that watching my videos had helped them so much.”

Source: uol.com.br