Georgina shares how her 20 week scan turned into a living nightmare when she found out her second baby girl, June, had severe brain abnormalities and would likely not survive birth. If she did survive, she would have a severely diminished quality of life and likely not survive to adulthood. After much agonising deliberation Georgina and her partner had a termination for medical reasons (TFMR) in June 2023. Georgina held June in her arms and told her how much she will always love her. In August 2023, Georgina fell pregnant again. She shares how she underestimated the difficulty of being pregnant again after loss. She had more than 30 scans including an MRI on the baby's brain but with support from perinatal mental health services for her anxiety combined with close observation from her medical team, Georgina got through the nine months. In spring 2024 her rainbow baby, Rae was born. Rae brought Georgina and her family hope in a very dark time and happiness after a difficult storm, so they will always consider her to be their rainbow.
Please be aware that Georgina has chosen to share pictures of her rainbow baby girl Rae with her story.
“In 2023 we went through the unimaginable when we found out our second baby girl, who we named June, had severe brain abnormalities at our 20 week scan. What was supposed to be a routine appointment turned into a living nightmare when we were referred for additional tests and told she would likely not survive birth. If she did survive, she would have a severely diminished quality of life and likely not survive to adulthood.
After further research, a private opinion and much agonising deliberation we had a termination for medical reasons (TFMR) in June 2023. I delivered her, held her in my arms and told her how much I will always love her.
I was desperate for a baby and saw pregnant women everywhere. I saw people with big families and felt so angry with my body that I couldn't grow another healthy child. We found out we were pregnant again in August 2023 and whilst we were overjoyed to be pregnant again, I was absolutely petrified. I had early spotting and was immediately referred to the early pregnancy rainbow clinic for scans and tests. I completely underestimated the difficulty of being pregnant after loss - we never knew why our baby girl who died had the issues she did and so the entirety of the pregnancy was filled with anxiety and worry. Every odd smell, new food, different environment would set off my anxiety, and I would be a wreck worrying this baby would die too. Everyday tasks such as cleaning and driving would cause anxiety spikes, and I had more than 30 scans including an MRI on this baby's brain to try and rule out the same issues.
I was referred to perinatal mental health services for managing my anxiety which, combined with close observation from our medical team, helped me get through the nine months.
In spring 2024 our rainbow baby was born, who we nicknamed Rae for that reason. She will never be a replacement for the little girl we lost, she is sunshine in her own right, but she did bring us hope in a very dark time and happiness after a difficult storm, so we will always consider her to be our rainbow."
