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Expectant mothers and fathers will no longer have to wait until their child is born to hold their baby - all thanks to 3D printing.
Company Baby:Boo helps parents-to-be create a life-like replica of their baby using a special scan of the pregnant woman's womb.
That image is then sent off to be rendered into a 360 degree format, and printed in 3D.
Baby:Boo offer the 3D baby model in either a box to be held, or mounted in a frame for parents who may wish to display it in their home. Katie Kermode, who owns Baby:Boo said, "People do think it's a little odd but it's similar to creating casts of baby's feet or hands. It's actually a really lovely keepsake to cherish."
The company, based in Tarleton, Lancs, claims to be very popular with the parents of tomorrow who are desperate to cough up £150 for the service.
Mrs Kermode, 32, built the company after having two miscarriages.
She is now a mother of two however, having since had children Alfie, three, and Sienna, two, with sales director dad Craig. Katie said, "After I lost two pregnancies I underwent fertility treatment and finally fell on pregnant with Alfie.
"But there was no way I could wait for 12 weeks to see everything was okay.
"I always had scans throughout, I think being pregnant is a scary time, especially if you have struggled to get pregnant." "It's nice to sit back and enjoy your pregnancy and take some of the stress off. I found it to be quite addictive."
"The NHS aren't there to provide a service for you, it's there to check everything is going well with the pregnancy, there are a list of checks they need to do. "They can't be spending the time cooing over your baby with you."
Her first customer, Layla Macmillan, approached the company when she became pregnant for the fourth time - and she loves the service.
The 28-year-old, whose children are Paige, seven, Imogen, five and Autumn, who is nine-months-old, said: "Being a photographer, I love things like that and thought it was an amazing idea. "Having images and a DVD of your baby is one thing, but having a real model to hold is so unique.
"It is so special to be able to hold a caste of your baby's face before it is even born. "With Autumn, we had a bonding scan which you can have between 29 and 31 weeks.
"This is the scan where they can see all the features and you get an idea of what your baby will look like. "I have got photographs of Autumn when she was seven hours old and she looks exactly the same as in her bonding scan."
Katie, who has been running Baby:Boo for two years, said: "We want to ensure the experience remains extra special and give our customers a unique keepsake that they cant get anywhere else."
"The 3D figurines are a really unique way to share the excitement of your new baby with family and friends - there will be no need to look at scan pictures anymore, they can almost see the real thing."
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