A rainbow baby is a baby born after miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, termination for medical reasons, stillbirth or neonatal death. The rainbow symbol has been used by members of the baby loss community for many years.
Both miscarriage and stillbirth describe pregnancy loss, but they differ according to when the loss occurs. In the United States, a miscarriage is usually defined as loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, and a stillbirth is loss of a baby at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Here's a guide to the most commonly used terms: Rainbow baby: Baby born after any type of loss. Sunshine baby: The living child born before a pregnancy loss. Angel baby: A baby lost during pregnancy, childbirth, or after pregnancy. Born sleeping: Used to describe a stillborn baby.
The standard definition used for stillbirths in Australia is a fetal death prior to birth of a baby born at 20 weeks gestation or more, and/or weighing 400 grams or more.
"Angel Baby," "Sunshine Baby," and "Rainbow Baby" are terms that refer to babies born just before or after another baby is lost due to a variety of reasons. They help immediate family members move through the grieving process and find meaning in the loss.
Twilight Sleep (Dammerschlaf) was a form of childbirth first used in the early twentieth century in Germany in which drugs caused women in labor to enter a state of sleep prior to giving birth and awake from childbirth with no recollection of the procedure.
Smith chose the purple butterfly as her symbol for a multiples loss because she saw the butterfly as a symbol of children who have “flown away” from this earth and purple was a color that could be representative of both boy and girl babies.
Most babies born unexpectedly without a heartbeat can be successfully resuscitated in the delivery room. Of those successfully resuscitated, 48% survive with normal outcome or mild-moderate disability.
We know that miscarriages occur in at least 15% of confirmed pregnancies. The actual miscarriage rate is likely to be much higher – we estimate it to be around 1 in 4 pregnancies. Based on these rates and the number of births each year, we estimate around 285 miscarriages occur every day in Australia.
Fertility after miscarriage is usually still good. According to one study in 2017 getting pregnant within three months of miscarriage can have a better outcome, with a lower risk of subsequent miscarriage, as it is thought that the body is still primed for pregnancy.
Gathering around a fire with a close circle of friends and family can be a beautiful way to say goodbye to your baby. You might want to say some words, play a meaningful song or take a moment of silence. You could also write and then burn a letter to your baby during a fire ceremony, as a private way to say goodbye.
If you miscarry naturally, even in the early weeks of pregnancy, you are likely to have period-like cramps that can be extremely painful. This is because the uterus is tightly squeezing to push its contents out, like it does in labour – and some women do experience contractions not unlike labour.
If it is an incomplete miscarriage (where some but not all pregnancy tissue has passed) it will often happen within days, but for a missed miscarriage (where the fetus or embryo has stopped growing but no tissue has passed) it might take as long as three to four weeks.
Women who retain the dead embryo/fetus can experience severe blood loss or develop an infection of the womb. These are rare complications. Gastro-intestinal side effects such as nausea and diarrhoea, cramping or abdominal pain and fever have been reported with misoprostol. Why is this important?
But if no heartbeat is seen, couples should wait for one week for the heartbeat to appear. This happens in 10-15% of cases. But if after one week also no heartbeat is visible, then there are no chances of fetal heartbeat and it can be a pregnancy loss.
Holding the baby
196 individuals held their baby after stillbirth (72.1%). Of the 76 (27.9%) who did not hold their baby, 56 (73.7%) saw their baby but did not hold it.
When a baby dies while still in the womb, this may also be called fetal loss. A doctor may deliver the baby by giving you medicine to start labour. Or you may have a surgical procedure called D&E (dilation and evacuation). The loss of a baby is devastating and very hard to accept.
UDOH: You have the right to decide what you would like to do with the miscarried fetus. You may decide to have your healthcare provider be responsible for disposition of the fetus. The provider may dispose of the miscarried fetus by burial or cremation.
No sex, tampons, or douching for 2 weeks.
We recommend waiting until after 2 normal periods to attempt pregnancy again.
The expelled tissue usually resemble large blood clots. Depending on the point at which the pregnancy stopped developing, the expelled tissue could range in size from as small as a pea to as big or bigger than an orange. The gestational sac may also be discernible.
A rainbow baby is a baby born after miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, termination for medical reasons, stillbirth or neonatal death. The rainbow symbol has been used by members of the baby loss community for many years.
For those who have experienced a miscarriage, the lotus flower can be a symbol of hope and new beginnings. The forget-me-not is another common choice for a miscarriage flower symbol. This flower represents memories, love, and grief.