Mother who suffered miscarriage explained the meaning behind 'rainbow baby' T-shirts

Autumn Safley wore a 'rainbow baby' T-shirts to honor pregnancy loss.

In 2016, Safley did not expect to receive attention because of her T-shirts when she went to an Arkansas craft store.

The mother from North Little Rock was 30 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy at the time. Her maternity tee featured a heart-shaped rainbow marked ‘You're looking at a rainbow!’

The rainbow is meant to honor an infant who is born after a miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death or infant loss.

Safley lost two babies back to back - one just before Thanksgiving and one right after the New Year.

“I bought it after my first miscarriage with intentions of wearing it when I was pregnant again, but I lost the second baby, and never got an opportunity to wear it,” she told Today Parents. “I found it in my closet … and I was like, I’m going to wear this…”

A woman named Courtney Mixon noticed the T-shirts and was moved by the meaning behind it.

Mixon told Babble: “I saw the rainbow heart printed on her belly, and I automatically knew what it meant. She had suffered a miscarriage and was now carrying a beautiful rainbow baby.”

“As she passed me, I had to speak up,” she added.

Safley told Babble that she saw Mixon while walking into Hobby Lobby.

"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,” she explained.

Mixon took a photo of Safley in the shirt and shared it on Facebook. The photo quickly went viral.

"I'm still in awe!" Mixon told Today Parents. "I never thought [the Facebook post] would go this far! I never knew by just posting that picture it would give women a voice."

According to Safley, she has found much solace in networking with other women who have dealt with infant loss, miscarriage, or fertility struggles.

“My husband and I had prayed for a way to be able to uplift others that have gone through the same thing,” she said.

Read more on our Twitter account @amomama_usa.

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