When psychologist Jessica Zucker had a miscarriage she discovered first hand what her patients had been telling her for years – there is still too much silence around pregnancy loss.
In an effort to break the silence, Zucker, who is a reproductive and maternal mental health specialist, has launched a line of rainbow baby themed T-shirts and tote bags for mums and bubs.
Speaking to the Huffington Post, Zucker said that there are a lot of rainbow babies around.
"With approximately 20 per cent of pregnancies resulting in loss and many of these women going on to get pregnant again, the number of rainbow babies is enormous," she said.
Launching the range in honour of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, Zucker hopes the shirts will help reduce the stigma of miscarriage.
"The shirts aim to de-stigmatize loss, put a face to the statistics, and move away from shame, to own our stories, to foster connection and community," she explains.
"Furthermore, these shirts are not only for women with rainbow babies. They are in fact also for women who themselves are rainbow babies!"
Zucker hopes that her 'Rainbow Babe' and 'Rainbow Mama' shirts, sold for $26 and $30 respectively, and tote bags, $5 or free with any purchase, will give women a way to "express pride" about their experience.
"We need not be ashamed of our reproductive histories. Pregnancy after pregnancy loss can be quite harrowing – these items also aim to stimulate conversations among women who have been there, who have struggled, who know what it's like," she said.
Along with breaking down taboos, Zucker also hopes that her 'Rainbow Baby' range will encourage intergenerational discussions about miscarriage and stillbirth.
"If we think our generation doesn't talk much about pregnancy loss, we can only imagine just how quiet things were in previous generations," she explained.
"My hope is that women turn toward their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, great-grandmothers and so on to learn about their reproductive histories, bolstering communication around this vital topic that needn't remain on the fringes."
The rainbow baby T-shirts and tote bags are available for purchase at Zucker's online shop. The totes are also included for free with any shirt purchases.
All proceeds will be donated to The Birth Hour podcast.