A NEW clinic has been launched to provide specialist care for women who fall pregnant following a late miscarriage, stillbirth or early neonatal death, known as a rainbow pregnancy.

The antenatal clinic, led by consultants with additional midwifery support, is based on continuity of care for parents expecting a rainbow baby, in a specialist multi-disciplinary team.

Expectant parents are able to use a separate waiting area when visiting the clinic, and can attend more regular ‘reassurance scans’ to ensure the health of the unborn baby.

Present at the launch were Laura Dacre and Nathan Jackson, parents to two week-old baby Isla, the first baby to be born through the Rainbow Pregnancy Clinic.

Laura and Nathan lost their first son, Loui, at 26 weeks in April 2018, and praised the care they received at the clinic.

Laura said: “The Rainbow Clinic is a lovely environment, and the one-to-one care we received helped to reassure us.

“A rainbow pregnancy is really exciting but is also such an anxious time – you’re always hoping things are going to be okay this time round. We always saw the same staff which meant we didn’t have to keep repeating the story about our experience with Loui, and we received bereavement support too.”

“The clinic provides a high level of care, and I would tell any mother expecting a rainbow baby that the Rainbow Clinic will help you get through things more easily, because they really tailor the care for bereaved parents.”

The clinic also works closely with the Reassurance Early Pregnancy Clinic, where women expecting a rainbow baby can be referred as early as five weeks, much earlier than the standard of 16 weeks, and can access emotional support as well as early scans.

These mums are then seamlessly transitioned to the Rainbow Pregnancy Clinic as their pregnancy continues. This care is offered during subsequent pregnancies too, providing specialist care for every new baby a mother may have following a loss.

Julie Mcnevin-Duff, a midwife at the Rainbow Pregnancy Clinic, said: “Sadly, pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, are not rare events, and thousands of people in the UK are affected every year. This experience has a significant physical, emotional and psychological impact on women and their families, who often face navigating the journey of a new pregnancy in the context of grief and trauma. The Clinic aims to make this process as easy as possible, as we acknowledge that the journey is different for every parent expecting a rainbow pregnancy, and we accommodate that as much as we can. ”

Martin Maher, a Rainbow Clinic consultant, said: “We launched the Rainbow Pregnancy Clinic to coincide with Baby Loss Awareness Week, to raise awareness and to help to break the silence around baby loss, and demonstrate our aim to continually strive to make improvements in bereavement care and support.”

Baby Loss Awareness Week, last week, was a collaboration between charities and organisations to raise awareness about the issues surrounding pregnancy and baby loss. It was an opportunity for bereaved parents, and their families and friends, to unite to commemorate their babies’ lives.