New mum’s joy after baby loss heartbreak as ‘Rainbow Clinic’ in Hull supports her through to the birth of her first daughter
A new mum from Hull has praised the special pregnancy service that helped her through her journey to welcoming her first baby.
Rebecca Anderson gave birth on Tuesday (May 21) to a healthy daughter, Eliza Hope Florence Anderson, who arrived at 4.30pm weighing 8lb 6oz. Mum, daughter and an ecstatic dad, Matthew Anderson, are all doing well and proud as punch to be a little family.
But the path to motherhood has not been smooth for Rebecca, who has suffered repeated tragedy on the way to becoming a mum at last. The couple have been supported by the Rainbow Clinic, a service set up at the beginning of this year to help parents who have previously suffered baby loss and miscarriage.
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Just hours before Rebecca was due to have an elective C-section, she told Hull Live: “I don’t know what I’d have done without the Rainbow Clinic and Chasing Rainbows [a charity that supports people experiencing infertility, recurrent miscarriages and baby loss]. They have been incredible, a real lifeline.”
Rebecca endured her first miscarriage in 2017 and a second in 2018, which is when she was first in touch with Chasing Rainbows, which was set up by bereavement support worker Samantha Catanach, after experiencing her own baby losses. Rebecca said: “I suffered further losses in 2019 and 2021; then I had an ectopic pregnancy in 2022 when I nearly lost my life.
“That was very traumatic. Because of that, and because of Chasing Rainbows, I was put onto the Rainbow Clinic.
“Before my first loss, I was very ignorant, very naïve about the impact of that loss and what was going to happen. To have the kind of support I have had on a personal level, when they know exactly what you have been going through, as well as on a medical level, has been so important.
“The Rainbow Clinic has been there for me every second of the way and Sam and Chasing Rainbows are warrior women.” Rebecca and Matthew were aware they were expecting a daughter and had a pram, car seat and clothes at the ready - a name was also lined up, but it was a secret until she was born.
The Rainbow Clinic officially launched at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital in January. Since then, more than 80 families have been supported and more than 20 babies have been born.
Midwife Ainsley Belton said: “Pregnancy after loss can be a very anxious and difficult time because these people have experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. The service offers additional antenatal checks and emotional wellbeing assessment so they don’t have to tell their stories over and over again to different members of staff.
“Often, we have met them during their time of their bereavement so we know their history and we are here to give them all the information and emotional support that they need.” The Rainbow Clinic is run by Hull’s Bereavement Midwifery Team, led by Ainsley and supported by midwife Jenna Cadden and Samantha, of Chasing Rainbows.
The midwives support families who have experienced three or more consecutive miscarriages, the interruption of pregnancy for a foetal anomaly or a medical problem, a miscarriage from 14 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, stillbirth or the death of their baby within three months of birth. The clinics, led by Ainsley and Jenna, run on Thursday afternoons and Friday afternoons for those who have experienced previous losses from early in their pregnancies as part of a multi-disciplinary approach.
Ainsley said: “We make contact with them early on and can offer them face-to-face appointments and telephone conversations if they’ve got any worries or concerns.” Women and parents-to-be using the service receive a special Rainbow Clinic pack, giving them additional information about reduced foetal movements.
Any woman who has experienced the loss of a baby is entitled to a lanyard to wear to their appointments during a subsequent pregnancy, which can be obtained from the Chasing Rainbows charity website, and can receive a plaque to put on the outside of the door any time they are admitted to hospital so staff are aware of what they have already been through.
“We see them regularly throughout their pregnancy and can be there with them if they have elective caesarean sections and we also see them after their babies are born,” Ainsley said. “We’ve had great feedback and we hope we’re making a difference.”