Mom and Mind

409: “A Light After Nine” A Story of Losses, Resilience, and Empowering Mothers

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I’m welcoming Rachell Dumas to the show today. She is a maternal health advocate, registered nurse, and the founder of A Light After Nine, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families navigating infertility, pregnancy loss, and maternal trauma. Drawing from her own experience with nine pregnancy losses and systemic disparities in maternal healthcare, Rachell uses her voice to advocate for trauma-informed, equitable care. Through her nonprofit, she provides emotional support, resources, and education to empower families and drive systemic change in maternal health practices. In this episode, Rachell shares her journey to motherhood, how she found the strength to keep going, and what it was like to finally have a baby after so many losses. She shares her best advice for others experiencing multiple losses and addresses the failures of the US healthcare system, especially in treating black women. 


Show Highlights:


  • Rachell’s pregnancy story, beginning in 2018 with a miscarriage followed by continued multiple losses, cervical insufficiency, and visits to a reproductive endocrinologist and maternal-fetal medicine doctor
  • Rachell’s experience in being told that her cerclage failed and the only option is to deliver her baby, who would most certainly die
  • Finding motherhood success in 2022, when her son was born weighing almost 5 pounds
  • The heavy emotional journey of diagnoses, repeated procedures, and multiple doctors during her experience with 8 miscarriages and a stillbirth
  • Finding success through hypnotherapy
  • The need for more education about maternal health specialists and what they do
  • Being a black woman in the US medical system
  • “Educate yourself so you can advocate better!”
  • Rachell’s first days of motherhood: caring for her baby but not allowing herself to bond fully with him
  • Rachell’s passion about creating A Light After Nine to offer education, resources, and support for others


    • Resources:


    Connect with Rachell Dumas and A Light After Nine: Website, YouTube Channel, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram


    Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov


    Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to be more supportive in offering services. 


    You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms


    Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.  


    Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!


    If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

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    Mom and MindBy Katayune Kaeni, Psy.D., PMH-C
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