This is the name given to the baby that comes after the ʟᴏss of a pregnancy or the ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ of a child. The images found on social networks pay homage to these mothers.
Early last year, a woman named Alexandra Bowlen was pregnant and decided to reach out to other moms who got pregnant again after their previous ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ. That’s when Mariana first heard the term “rainbow baby.” It was then that she decided to use her skills as a professional photographer to pay tribute to these mothers and help them share their stories.
So what is a rainbow baby? A rainbow baby is a baby born following the ʟᴏss of a mother who has suffered a ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ or had a sᴛɪʟʟʙᴏʀɴ baby in a previous pregnancy and has become pregnant again. For many women grieving ʟᴏss, the baby on the way is the light that comes over the ᴛʀᴀɢᴇᴅʏ of ʟᴏsɪɴɢ a baby, just as a rainbow is born after a great storm.
To portray this concept in metaphorical images, Alexandra brought together six of these moms to honor their rainbow babies with them in a series of photos.
“I was nervous,” said the photographer in an interview conducted by NBC. “I felt like I needed to portray this with all my might, not just because of my creative heart but because of these moms and their beautiful angels in heaven.”
Bolen’s photo pictured above shows six mothers of rainbow babies, some of them still pregnant. Behind the women, colored smoke bombs were exploded, forming a rainbow as an allegorical background. After the photographer shared this image on Facebook on her page, Shutter Darling Photography Studio, the image went viral, garnering more than 17,000 likes and tons of comments.
In addition to the beautiful photo, Alexandra included this beautiful poem in the message:
“A rainbow is a promise
of sunshine after rain
of calm after storms
of joy after sadness
of peace after pain
of love after loss.”
Alexandra’s photograph is one of the many that have been published on social networks in recent years on this subject. The images are meant to encourage and support every mother who has experienced pregnancy ʟᴏss. The metaphor calls for courage and commitment, so it is necessary for these mothers to try again to get pregnant, although the grief for a child that has ᴅɪᴇᴅ can never be overcome.
The image below was taken by another professional photographer named Jen Priester; it’s a rainbow baby named Charlotte, whose mother Cathy Matthews suffered a ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ a few months before she got pregnant again.
And the next image, taken by Joann Marrero, shows Jessica Mahoney, a mom pregnant with her long-awaited rainbow baby after suffering six ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇs.
“Six babies were ʟᴏsᴛ, and I was honored to carry this rainbow baby,” Mahoney wrote in the caption accompanying her photo. “I hope my story helps someone else know they are not alone, as the journey of loss or infertility is dark and lonely.”
From here, we send our best wishes for these heroines, who, with true love, knew how to turn the loss of their children into a blessing for their lives!
