Rainbow Baby Day: Meet King Kyro

Ambassadors,  Empowerment

• Kimberly Isburg
• 08.20.21

National Rainbow Baby Day (Aug. 22) offers families a chance to celebrate the joy of a new baby while reflecting and sharing about the baby (or babies) they lost. 

We’re excited to introduce you to King Kyro, the newest arrival for Count the Kicks New Jersey Ambassador Vu-An Foster. In honor of Rainbow Baby Day, we asked her to share more about her experience with pregnancy after loss, pregnancy during a pandemic, and what having a rainbow baby means to her.

Congrats on the safe arrival of your new baby! Can you tell us more about your family and your new baby? 

After suffering two preventable second-trimester pregnancy losses due to incompetent cervix diagnosis, we welcomed our rainbow baby King Kyro at 40 weeks on the 4th of July. He was born weighing 10 pounds 9 ounces. 

How long have you been a Count the Kicks Ambassador and what does it mean to you? 

I have been a Count the Kicks ambassador since January 2021. This work is important to me because I never want a mother or family to experience what I went through with my losses. This is why I am so passionate about educating women, expectant mothers, and families on preventative measures in regards to pregnancy and infant loss. As a Public Health professional, I will continue to make a difference and improve maternal child health outcomes in honor of my girls.

Please tell us more about your experience being pregnant after losing a baby to stillbirth. 

I just want to clarify my second loss was a stillbirth by definition, as it occurred after 20 weeks. However, I did not have a stillbirth, in the sense that she was born sleeping. 

Nevertheless, during this pregnancy, I went in with the mindset, “different pregnancy, different outcome.” We celebrated every week I remained pregnant, as well as the big milestones. Also, everything I wanted to do in my first two pregnancies, I put it out there in the universe and manifested it. 

The most important part of my pregnancy that I am leaving out is that this time around, I let my providers know I would be an active partner in my care. No longer would my life and my baby’s life rest solely in their hands. I believe this made a world of a difference for us and is why I am holding my second rainbow today. 

Did the COVID-19 pandemic have an impact on your pregnancy experience? 

Yes, COVID-19 impacted my pregnancy. Part of my healing process after my losses was changing my perspective; not everything that happens to you has to be seen as a negative. 

I was employed by the same company I was working for when I had my loss. For this pregnancy, I was placed on leave as my employer was unable to accommodate my request for special accommodation, which ended up giving me more time to solely focus on my high-risk pregnancy. 

Also, only moms were allowed to attend OB/GYN visits and we could only have one visitor for the scans if the COVID-19 numbers were high. This was hard, but I knew this was a precaution to not only keep moms and babies safe, but also the staff taking care of us as well. 

Tell us more about your experience using the FREE Count the Kicks app during your rainbow baby pregnancy.

I used the Count the Kicks app during my pregnancy to count the kicks and learn my baby’s norm surrounding movement. Instead of starting to count kicks in the third trimester, I started at 26 weeks, as I was considered a high-risk pregnancy. 

It not only gave me peace of mind, but it also helped me bond with my baby, especially when bonding with your baby can be so hard when you have multiple preventable losses.   

What was your favorite feature of the Count the Kicks app?

My favorite feature of the Count the Kicks app was how easy it was to count the kicks and the graph that kept a record of your baby’s movement. 

It’s Rainbow Baby Day! Do you use this term, and if so, what does it mean to you to have a rainbow baby? 

I do use the term “rainbow baby.” Rainbow baby is my baby after the storm.

What do you want other moms to know about stillbirth, pregnancy after loss, and the Count the Kicks campaign? 

I want other moms to know two things: First, pregnancy after loss is not easy so, please give yourself grace; Second, Count the Kicks campaign is not to scare you, it is a tool/ resource to help you prevent a loss.

What do you hope to accomplish in your role as a Count the Kicks Ambassador in your state? 

I would love to see the state of New Jersey adopt the Count the Kicks program. My state is already doing so much fantastic workaround improving Maternal Child Health outcomes, it would be great to include this program in our efforts. 

About Our Ambassadors

Count the Kicks Ambassadors help us educate expectant parents and providers across the U.S. about the importance of kick counting in the third trimester of pregnancy. This incredible group of kick counting advocates are essential to our efforts to reach as many parents and providers as possible. Our Ambassador team currently includes 42 women representing 28 states, plus Washington, D.C., Canada and India. The team includes 33 who work in honor of lost babies, five that are baby save moms, and four who are birth workers.

Visit our website to learn more about our Ambassador program.