What is a rainbow baby?
When it comes to welcoming a child into the world, every bundle of joy is a miracle.
Whether it’s your first or another addition to your growing brood, being handed your newborn baby makes the ups and downs of pregnancy worth it.
All that being said, there are moments where there’s an added layer of poignancy. And one such example can be when parents welcome a rainbow baby to the world.
What is a rainbow baby?
A rainbow baby is a baby born after miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, termination for medical reasons, stillbirth or neonatal death.
Rainbows symbolise hope and comfort -they are the brightening of the sky after the storm of grief from the death of a baby during pregnancy.
Welcoming a baby to the world after having lost one is sure to bring a rollercoaster of emotions: intense lows dealing with grief and pain, and ecstatic highs because of good news and the renewal of hope.
The symbol of the rainbow acknowledges both the baby that passed away and the newborn baby.
Rainbow babies carry the torch for the baby lost before them, and the symbol of the rainbow ensures that mother that there is always hope.
Rainbow babies and more open discussions around child losses have helped people feel more comfortable talk about a painful topic.
A viral ‘#Ihadamiscarriage’ campaign on social media encouraged mothers to come forward and discuss their grief openly, giving them a wider platform for their grief.
The powerful social media campaign opened up the stigma behind talking about having a miscarriage, and provided mums with a support network they never knew existed.
Many of the miscarriage stories attracted attention on social media, and provided the mothers sharing their stories with the support needed to deal with their grief.
The experience of pregnancy is a completely different journey when you have previously lost a baby during pregnancy and the idea of rainbow babies are there to acknowledge it.
If you’ve suffered a miscarriage, you can get help and support from The Miscarriage Association and Tommy’s.
MORE : Instagram account ‘I had a miscarriage’ is helping to break the silence around rainbow babies
MORE : I can’t believe I was only offered support after my third miscarriage
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