What is a ‘rainbow baby’? UK PM Boris Johnson welcomes baby girl with wife Carrie

According to an official statement made on behalf of the couple, the girl was born on Thursday at a London hospital, and she is being called their 'rainbow' baby, or 'rainbow' child.

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The couple's first child, Wilfred Johnson, was born in April last year. (Photo: Instagram/@borisjohnsonuk)

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has become a father again. He welcomed a baby girl with his wife Carrie Symonds, with whom he got married earlier this year. This is the couple’s second child together and the prime minister’s seventh.

According to an official statement made on behalf of the couple, the girl was born on Thursday at a London hospital, and she is being called their ‘rainbow’ baby, or ‘rainbow’ child.

“The prime minister and Mrs Johnson are delighted to announce the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital earlier today. Both mother and daughter are doing very well. The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS maternity team for all their care and support,” a spokesperson stated.

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The couple’s first child, Wilfred Johnson, was born in April last year.

What is a rainbow baby?

According to Healthline, a rainbow baby is one who is born after a couple goes through miscarriage, a stillbirth, neonatal death or infant loss. The term is used to refer to the feeling of watching a rainbow after a rain, or when the storm clouds have passed. It symbolises the end of turbulent times and the beginning of something better.

Carrie had revealed earlier this year that she had suffered a miscarriage, so this baby’s arrival is naturally special. In an Instagram post in July, she had written, “Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas. At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken. I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but I’ve also felt like a bag of nerves.”

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What does it feel like to have a rainbow baby?

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Healthline states that while these babies are described as “miracle babies due to the powerful impact they can have on helping parents heal after a loss”, “rainbow pregnancies” can bring feelings of “anxiety”, “guilt”, and “fear”.

In short, a rainbow parent can expect mixed emotions — of losing a baby, and waiting in anticipation for the birth of a healthy one.

As mentioned earlier, this is the UK PM’s seventh child. The 57-year-old has been married thrice, and has four kids from his second marriage to lawyer Marina Wheeler, and now two with 33-year-old Carrie, who is a former Conservative Party media adviser.

He also fathers a daughter from an extra-marital affair.

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