Mother's glitter maternity shoot in tribute to stillborn daughter and rainbow baby goes viral

'We were going to honour the sparkle she left behind with all of us'

Samantha Gadd covered half her body in multi-coloured glitter for the photoshoot

A mother who became pregnant the same year after the devastating stillbirth of her daughter, born at just 22 weeks, has staged a photoshoot in honour of both her children.

Samantha Gadd, 27, from Ohio, US, sadly lost her first baby – a little girl named Victoria – on February 1 2017 after her umbilical cord prolapsed.

Already a mother of two boys, Gadd and her partner, Steve, were distraught and, when the couple found out they were expecting again just months later, they were overcome with mixed feelings.

“It was a mix of emotions. I was excited and hopeful and I needed that happiness — that new thing to be excited about,” Gadd told People.

“But I was nervous because I didn’t want this to end. I didn’t want there to be a miscarriage.”

Gadd became worried that she would feel as though Victoria was being replaced and so enlisted the help of friend and photographer, Nicole DeHoff, to create a super-special maternity shoot.

During a chance trip to the craft store, DeHoff passed the glitter section and knew exactly what direction she wanted to take Gadd’s shoot in.

“We were going to honour Victoria with the sparkle that she left behind with all of us,” DeHoff told Love What Matters.

DeHoff covered Gadd’s skin with Vaseline on one side of her body before sprinkling on multi-coloured glitter in a rainbow motif to celebrate her rainbow baby - a term used to describe a pregnancy following a miscarriage or still-birth.

Simultaneously capturing the beauty of her pregnancy while paying tribute to Victoria, Gadd described the shoot as a “rush of emotions” but hopes the images will help raise awareness.

“It was an emotional battle after losing a child and I was excited and hoping the pictures would catch people’s attention and learn that this could happen to anyone,” Gadd explained.

Two months after the photoshoot, Gadd and Steve welcomed their rainbow baby, Abigail, on December 14 2017 and celebrated the new arrival with another adorable photoshoot by DeHoff.

The delighted mother says she felt both “accomplished and relieved” as she held Abigail in her arms and that she looks just like her sister, Victoria.