Lauren Mann had never staged a rainbow baby maternity shoot before, but when she was asked to do one for Heather Branham, a mom-to-be from Florida, she more than jumped at the chance. The stunning photos are going viral as a gorgeous tribute to both the baby who Branham lost, and the one she is about to bring into the world.
Mann says it was Branham who first came to her with the idea for a photo shoot, and she did her best to make her vision a reality.
In doing so, the photographer, who owns Sixteen Roses Photography in Cape Coral, Florida, couldn't help but be touched by Branham's story — especially because it feels so close to her own.
"As a mom and photographer, I get to connect with so many people, with so many different back stories and I get to share their stories through my work," Mann tells CafeMom. "I stayed quiet for years about my own miscarriage. It's one thing a lot my closest friends never knew about me, so I'm sure this will come as shock when I say my next baby will also be a rainbow baby."
Branham says she learned she was expecting a third child in March 2019, and she was overjoyed by the news.
"We were so excited and posted a cute St Patrick’s Day announcement about how 'lucky' we were to be expecting again," Branham tells CafeMom.
However, it wasn't meant to be.
"That excitement lasted only a few short weeks until we were told the baby stopped growing at our first appointment," she recalls. "We were in complete disbelief and refused to accept what we heard and went back every week for the next three weeks to see if there had been any change."
The Florida mom says that because it was still early on in the pregnancy, she and her husband, James, were still hanging on to hope.
In fact, they even went to another doctor for a second opinion.
"It was so hard for us to accept because weren’t showing any usual signs of a 'typical miscarriage' and the fact that we had two healthy children already, it just felt impossible to accept something like this was happening to us," she says.
Adding to the emotional news was the fact that her doctor kept referring to the loss as a “missed abortion,” and told her she needed to proceed with a D&C to remove the baby — an invasive procedure that she struggled with.
"[It] made us feel like we were the ones choosing to end the pregnancy," she shares. "Finally, during the ultrasound of the second doctor, our ultrasound tech was an amazing women who shared her own personal story of miscarriage and made it feel more 'normal' to be going through this."
Ultimately, the Branhams decided to opt out of a D&C procedure and instead "let nature take its course."
In the months that followed her miscarriage, Branham says she filled her days scouring the internet for similar stories of loss as well as stories of hope, from moms who welcomed healthy rainbow babies after a miscarriage.
"This gave me hope to try again and I immediately begin searching Pinterest for ideas on rainbow babies," she tells CafeMom. "I have heard the term plenty of times before; I just never expected to use it for myself."
But now, she finally can. Branham is expecting a baby girl in May, and her family is once again filled with joy and anticipation.
Still, that's not to say this pregnancy hasn't been filled with plenty of ups and downs.
"The first 12 weeks were filled with complete fear," Branham admits. "I remember shivering and shaking at the first doctor visit waiting to hear that heartbeat, and cried immediately after finally getting that reassurance that so far we have a healthy beautiful baby growing inside."
As the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the Branhams finally let themselves feel happiness again.
"Over time I started to feel bits and pieces of excitement and hope for this pregnancy to work out," Branham says. "Once I hit third trimester I couldn’t stop thinking of doing the rainbow baby photo shoot ,and found Lauren our photographer on Facebook. She had just posted stunning photos of a friend of mine's 'Dirty 30,' and I fell in love with her style."
Branham fired off a quick Facebook message to Mann, and the two women instantly connected.
"She was thrilled for the chance to do the unique shoot with smoke bombs," Branham shares. "She helped come up with ideas and ways to make it exactly what we had hoped for."
Mann tells us that she wanted the rainbow-colored smoke bombs "to be big and colorful, to represent just how amazing and strong Heather and her family are, that they are having this baby girl."
"I decided to add the butterfly as a reminder of her previous baby always being there to look out over her daughter," the photographer adds.
It was also important to the Branhams to include their other two daughters in the photo, 8-year-old Hailey and 5-year-old Kiley.
"[It] was really important to me because trying to explain the process of losing a sibling they never met was a difficult one for sure. But explaining the joy of having another chance with our beautiful rainbow was extremely satisfying, Branham says.
"Watching their faces light up during the photo shoot and placing their hands on my belly, feeling their little sister inside, was so rewarding and a moment I will never forget!" the proud mom adds.
Now that the photos are sweeping the internet, both Mann and Branham can hardly believe it.
Mann says she thought she'd get a few shares and likes when she posted them to Facebook on March 3 but never could have imagined the response they've gotten. To date, her post has over 28K shares and thousands of comments — many from mothers who've faced similar losses.
"When [Mann] sent me the photos, I couldn’t wait to post them to Facebook and share with family and friends," Branham recalls. "I thought they were so beautiful and was so happy to finally get my moment of feeling empowered with my rainbow baby shoot I waited so impatiently for."
Still, she says she "never expected for them to get the attention that they did," and has been touched by the heartfelt comments people have left.
"I was in shock at the impact it had on so many people and how many people have gone through the same thing," Branham shares. "I went from thinking it was so unusual to have a miscarriage and feeling alone, to feeling so connected with complete strangers.
"It’s been absolutely amazing to see the shares likes and comments rise by the thousands every few hours. It has definitely made me realize how [undiscussed] miscarriage and stillbirths are, and I hope the photos continues to open up the subject a bit more."
She also hopes they help make women feel less alone, and reminds them to "hang in there" for hope of their own rainbow baby someday.
Branham's words ring true for many -- miscarriage and infant loss are underrepresented, under-discussed, and, sadly, incredibly common.
According to the Mayo Clinic, about 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. However, "the actual number is likely higher because many miscarriages occur so early in pregnancy that a woman doesn't realize she's pregnant," the website stated.
As for neonatal deaths, which occur within a baby's first 28 days of life, the March of Dimes reported that they occur in 4 of every 1,000 births.
Although we've become increasingly comfortable discussing these topics as a society, there is still a lot of work left to be done to normalize the experiences and offer mothers and families the support they need to get through them.
In the end, Mann hopes that the images don't just tell the story of one mom's journey through loss; she hopes they inspire others to forge ahead too.
"Don't stop trying," the photographer urges other moms who have experienced loss. "You were — and are — never alone. Women, myself especially, don't talk about our feelings and our stories as much as we should," she continues.
"Everyone has a unique story that someone needs to hear [and] sometimes our greatest support [systems] come from the people or places we least expect it. I've learned over time, good and bad things happen for a reason … they are stepping stone onto something else. We may not see it now, but the beautiful thing about time is that it allows things to change. We have the power to move it in the direction we want — you just have to keep on going."
