Mum's 'rainbow baby' t-shirt encourages women to talk about miscarriage
The top was spotted by another mum who had lost a baby
An image of a woman who had a miscarriage and went on to have a 'rainbow baby' - a pregnancy after losing a child - has been shared by another bereaved mum in the hope it will encourage people to talk about loss.
Courtney Mixon was out shopping when she spotted Autumn Safley wearing a black t-shirt with a heart-shaped rainbow printed on it and the words 'you're looking at a rainbow'.
Courtney knew exactly what the phrase meant, and stopped to speak to Autumn about it. It was the first time Autumn had ever worn the shirt - and her husband had warned her that people would probably not know what it meant.
Writing on her Facebook, Courtney explained how she knew exactly what the sentiment behind it was - and why it meant so much to her:
"Alright standing in line at NLR Hobby Lobby I see this a rainbow heart printed on her belly. I automatically knew what it meant. She had suffered a miscarriage and now she was carrying a beautiful rainbow baby.
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"As she passed me I had to speak up. I said I love your shirt! She replied that her husband was hesitant for her to wear it ( because people wouldn't know what it meant) I then told her it's so taboo to talk about miscarriages and I was proud of her for wearing it.
"I told her my story and she told me hers. We hugged and said we would keep each other in our prayers! Me for her baby's continuing good health and her for me to conceive.
"I asked to take a pic and realised I left my phone in the car. She handed me her phone and sent that picture to me.
She's such a beautiful woman and mommy!!! A complete stranger....Thank you Autumn for making me and my husband's day! Please share this so maybe she can see how much she touched our hearts..."
Autumn told Babble.com that she had lost 2 babies back to back last year, but is now expecting a little boy in December.
She said that she was compelled to reach out and hug Courtney when she saw the tears well up in her eyes as she looked at her t-shirt.
"As I was walking into Hobby Lobby, I saw Courtney. We made eye contact and I noticed she had big tears welled in her eyes. I walked over to her and asked if I could hug her," Autumn said.
As Courtney shared her miscarriage history with her - she lost a baby in August last year, and has since been diagnosed with PCOS - Autumn told her to 'never give up'.
"I told her to never lose hope, and that God had a perfect plan for her and her little family," Autumn said. (Gulp!)
Courtney asked Autumn if she could take a pic of her to post online because 'it's so taboo to talk about miscarriages'. Autumn agreed, and the image has now been shared almost 34 thousand times.
What an amazing story - and what a profound and important statement that t-shirt makes, eh? (We've tracked down the website that sells them if you want to spread the rainbow baby word.)
Photo: Facebook/Courtney Mixon
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