We never gave up hope that we'd take home our rainbow
Our losses
My husband and I met while we were students at Loughborough University. We got pregnant for the first time in 2014, but this ended in a miscarriage at just short of 12 weeks. It was traumatic and devastating.
My next pregnancy also ended in heartbreaking miscarriage. When I got pregnant again after this, we were anxious but hopeful. Sadly though, I began to feel a lot of abdominal pain, and was bleeding a lot. I went to the hospital but it took awhile to diagnose. After a lot of scans, we were told I had an ectopic pregnancy. We were devastated.
After my ectopic pregnancy, I got pregnant again, but sadly this led to my fourth loss. We had all the standard NHS tests but they found nothing. Luckily, I found out about Tommy’s. I talked to my GP and she referred me to the National Centre for Miscarriage Research in Coventry.
Getting through the tough times
We found comfort in our family as well as our dog, Ruby. Ruby knew something was wrong and when I needed a cuddle. Looking after her kept me going, because she needed walks and feeding.
I allowed myself time and space to grieve.
I also distanced myself from friends who were pregnant or had babies. This was really hard, and some friendships sadly never recovered, but it was a necessary protection mechanism. But we never gave up hope that we'd take home our rainbow.
Being referred to Tommy's
Meeting Professor Quenby and her incredible team was life changing. She picked up on something nobody else had; that I have inherited thrombophilia. I was invited to take part in the Alife2 trial and it was incredible to be supported by the clinic.
I fell pregnant after being referred, and they made pregnancy after recurrent loss as easy as it could’ve been. We had multiple reassurance scans, extra check ups and help was only ever a phone call or email away.
We will be forever grateful to Tommy’s.
We felt listened to and cared about for the first time in our pregnancy journey. I felt reassured and supported. Even though I was randomised not to receive the medication, I honestly believe the care I received helped me to stay pregnant this time.
Welcoming our rainbow
Our rainbow baby was born in February 2019 - Phoebe. It’s a name that I’ve always loved, and one of the doctors at Coventry was named Phoebe. We also loved the name as it's an anagram of ‘be hope’
To me, a rainbow baby is a symbol of hope, the rainbow after the storm. We're so lucky to have her in our lives, but we'll never forget the babies who came before her.