Parents and experts explain why rainbow babies, born after miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death, are something beautiful after a scary and dark experience. The term rainbow baby may not be familiar to people who haven’t experienced a loss. But to those of us who have, it has a very deep and even life-changing significance.
I am currently seven months pregnant with a rainbow baby, and indeed, I feel like I am walking around
Eric Wilson
The days, weeks, and months after she became our angel baby were the darkest of my life. But soon a dim hope flickered inside my heart, and eventually ignited a flame, that became my desire to try again
Can Honor an Angel Baby
Not that she knew previously what a rainbow baby was. “I remember the feeling that I had when I first heard [the term]. It was perfect. I so much wanted to make sure that Niko wasn’t forgotten, and the term so eloquently acknowledges the babies who we’ve lost, while also celebrating the joy of our babies who do survive.
Rainbow Baby May Feel Different
Prak Pandiyan is now a proud mom of a little girl, her rainbow, who truly informs her parenting philosophy. “My husband and I always wondered what life would have been like if our son could be discharged and come home with us,” she explains. When we welcomed our rainbow baby into this world, our perspective as parents shifted.
- Of or being in infancy.
- Intended for infants or young children.
- Newly begun or formed
Rainbow Baby Can Be Emotional for Parents
Guilt is a common feeling for parents who welcome a rainbow baby, adds Dr. Lorde-Rollins. “Parents can feel that being excited about the new pregnancy or loving this new baby when he or she arrives, is somehow a betrayal of the baby they lost.” Dr. Kulp-Makarov says. “These parents need a lot of emotional support during pregnancy and birth.
For me, support has come, in part, in the form of knowing I am not alone. As Dr. Kulp-Makarov points out, the term “rainbow baby” is becoming more mainstream and this has helped to increase awareness around loss and healing.
“These babies are a beautiful example of how women’s bodies and spirits can heal after a pregnancy or neonatal loss,” she says. Prak Pandiyan is now a proud mom of a little girl, her rainbow, who truly informs her parenting philosophy.
Healing doesn’t mean forgetting. “Don’t be afraid to keep the child that you lost as part of your lives, in whatever way is special and important to you,” Prak Pandiyan says to other parents who have endured loss.
Prak Pandiyan is now a proud mom of a little girl, her rainbow, who truly informs her parenting philosophy. “My husband and I always wondered what life would have been like if our son could be discharged and come home with us,” she explains. “When we welcomed our rainbow baby into this world, our perspective as parents shifted.