A mum whose baby died just 18 hours after being born welcomed her 'rainbow baby' in the same hospital on the same date - exactly one year later.

After falling pregnant with her first child, Rachael Woolsey, 31, was told his brain was growing outside of his skull and medics recommended she terminate the pregnancy.

But Rachael and her husband, Weston, 30, a service advisor, ignored doctors' advice and continued with the pregnancy.

She gave birth to little Zachery, weighing 3lbs 13oz, at St Joseph's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona, US.

The couple spent 18 hours cuddling and spending time with Zachery before he died in their arms the following day.

Four months later, Rachael fell pregnant again, but she says she was left "traumatised" by her first pregnancy, meaning she wasn't able to enjoy it.

Rachael had a textbook pregnancy and her daughter, Brynlee, was born on exactly one year on, on February 19, at 5.17am, weighing 7lbs 3oz at the same hospital and was even looked after by the same midwife.

Rachael, a content creator, from Queen Creek, Arizona, US, said: "Part of me felt so guilty.

"I felt like I should be at the cemetery - I felt guilt that I should be there and not giving birth to another baby.

"I was also excited to be having another baby, there were so many emotions.

"When we left the hospital, we left through the same door that we left a year earlier.

"I was so happy we were able to give birth to our baby but so sad we lost Zachery."

Rachael found out she was pregnant in June 2017 and was excited to start the next chapter of her life with her husband Weston.

When the couple went for their first ultrasounds, Rachael said she expected "everything to be perfect".

She said: "During the ultrasound, I was talking to the tech and not looking at the screen.

"All of a sudden, I heard his tone change and my heart dropped. I instantly knew that something was wrong.

"The doctor walked in and told us that his brain was growing outside of his skull - we were just in shock and trying to process everything."

Rachael and Weston were given the option to carry on with the pregnancy but claim it was recommended they abort the pregnancy.

Rachael said: "They recommended aborting as they knew it would not be a viable pregnancy.

"We decided to carry on with the pregnancy even though at every appointment it was recommended to abort."

Rachael's waters broke in the middle of the night when she was 36 weeks pregnant and she was taken to St Joseph's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona.

Zachery was born on February 19, 2018, and died 18 hours later in Rachael's arms.

Rachael said: "The hospital was shocked that he was alive when he was born.

"It was chaos, we had family come in and out. We cried, we prayed, and I held him most of the time.

"We were in shock - it didn't feel real. When we left home empty-handed in the car, that was when it hit.

"I fell to my knees, and I just started bawling."

Four months later, Rachael fell pregnant with what is known as a rainbow baby - a baby born following a miscarriage or stillbirth.

She said that the pregnancy was textbook, but she was left "traumatised" by her first pregnancy.

Brynlee was born three weeks early on February 19, 2019, weighing 7lb 3oz at St Joseph's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona.

She said: "It was crazy, the same resident who delivered Zachery was there one year later to deliver my daughter.

"It was a day filled with mixed emotions.

"She is four now and she is doing really good. She talks about Zachery all the time and how much she misses him.

"We just had another baby born, Beckham, 11 months old, which was hard to process.

"I didn't want to know the baby until the birth as I thought it would be really hard to have a boy and them not be Zachery."