Have you read or heard about parents referring to their babies as either rainbow baby, sunshine baby or angel baby? These terms are commonly used in mommy groups and forums. Learn about their differences in this handy guide for parents.
A rainbow baby is a baby born after a miscarriage or stillbirth, according to Cosmopolitan. Some moms celebrate their rainbow babies with a photoshoot and in fact, this practice is fast becoming a trend on social media.
It's not hard to see why this is worth celebrating. A rainbow baby brings joy after a parents' grief of losing a child. A rainbow baby takes away the fear and apprehension parents have over having children again, as per Romper. The baby represents hope after going through pain.
A sunshine baby, on the other hand, refers to the baby who came before a miscarriage or stillbirth. It's the baby parents are already raising before the loss of a child and it also comes with its own challenges. The difference in raising a rainbow baby and a sunshine baby might be minimal because any baby involves the same parenting struggles like lack of sleep, worries and losing one's social life, as per Trying To Beat Mummy.
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Some parents, however, might not experience having a sunshine baby if the couple's first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. Their experience of loss is tremendous, given it's the first child and this is why their expectations for a rainbow baby matters even more. As one mom pointed out on Baby Center, "I'm not sure that any moms would be sure if they are expecting their sunshine baby yet."
Meanwhile, the angel baby refers to the child the parents lost due to a miscarriage or stillbirth. It's also in reference to the child who dies in his or her early years. Watch a family's experience when they welcomed their rainbow baby in the video below.
