Rainbow Clinic offers parents a ray of hope

The term 'rainbow pregnancy' is used by many families to describe a pregnancy following a pregnancy loss or neonatal death.

The Rainbow Clinic is a new specialist service for women who are expecting a baby, having previously experienced a late miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death, to support them and their family or support network through their pregnancy.

Becoming pregnant after a previous loss can be a worrying and daunting prospect, and the Rainbow Clinic will offer continuity of carer, in partnership with community midwifery teams.

OUH Consultant Midwife Emily Brace says:

"We are so pleased to launch Oxford's Rainbow Clinic. This will be an invaluable service for pregnant women and their families who have been affected by previous baby loss.

"Navigating a new pregnancy after a previous baby loss can be incredibly challenging for women and their families, and it can often bring mixed emotions to the surface.

"We know that each rainbow pregnancy is different, and our aim is to make the journey as easy as possible, through this specialist continuity of carer pathway."

Hayley Leyshon-Brady, from Oxfordshire Maternity Voices Partnership, says:

"Our son Edward was born at 20 weeks in October 2017. His little brother George was born in the same hospital 13 months later.

"Being pregnant again after the loss of Edward was a hugely anxious time for us as parents, and the support needed is unique to every family.

"The Rainbow Clinic is such a wonderful addition to the Maternity Services in Oxfordshire; working with families of later losses and supporting them through their subsequent pregnancies will make an unimaginable difference to everyone."