How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

On today's episode, Matt Whitehouse retraces the day his daughter Callie died, how grief transformed his identity, and how the right type of communication, counseling, and community helped him rebuild. He shares why he now supports bereaved dads and how a daily 10K run in 2026 honors Callie’s tenth birthday.

Key Takeaways:
• Lily Mae Foundation and Still Parents Podcast
• The hospital day that changed everything
• Powerlessness and the shock after loss
• Identity split before and after grief
• Communication as a lifeline for dads
• How friendships shift and mature
• Turning pain into purpose and service
• Planning a 10K-a-day tribute in 2026
• Early progress update and lessons learned

If you want to stay in the loop of what's going on at Dad Always, go to dadalways.com to join the email list to receive updates. 

Theme Music: "Love Letter” was created using AI as a creative tool, with lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

Show Music from Soundstripe

Azalea by Ghost Beatz

Ignorance Is Bliss by Liberty

Yesterday, I Lost A Day by GLASWING

Imagination by PALA

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

In this episode of Dad Always, host Kelly Jean-Philippe shares the story behind “Love Letter,” the theme song for the podcast.

Through personal reflection, Kelly explores how poetry became his first language for emotion, how grief after four miscarriage losses silenced that voice, and how it eventually found its way back. He speaks openly about love, loss, guilt, anger, and the lasting impact of a daughter he never got to raise—but will always carry.

This episode is an intimate reflection on grief, fatherhood, and the enduring bond between dads and their children after baby loss. It’s also an invitation to listen—to our emotions, to our grief, and to the love that remains.

“Love Letter,” the theme song for Dad Always, was created using AI as a creative tool, with original lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

Content note: This episode includes personal discussion of miscarriage and pregnancy loss.

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Dad Always opens with a clear promise: this is a home for fathers and families carrying baby loss, where grief does not need to be defended and love is allowed to last. 

We share five core beliefs, outline the formats to come, and introduce the story behind the theme song, "Love Letter" (more in Episode 2).

Key takeaways:
• who this space is for and why it exists
• how baby loss reshapes identity and fatherhood
• five core beliefs that guide every conversation

1. dads grieve deeply, even when we grieve quietly
2. being a dad is about more than having a living child
3. strength includes asking for and accepting support
4. meaning and pain can exist side by side
5. dads never need to justify or explain their grief

• what to expect from interviews, reflections, and crafted episodes
• practical care and permission to move at your own pace

“Love Letter,” the theme song for Dad Always, was created using AI as a creative tool, with lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Four words can slice through a tender moment of grief: “At least it was” (now, fill in the blank). We’ve heard it, we’ve felt the sting, and we wanted to unpack why platitudes show up so easily—especially around miscarriage—and what to say (and not say) when someone you love is hurting. Sophie from Miscarriage Mumma Support joins us again to explore the complex reality of baby loss, the social pressure to “look on the bright side,” and the deeper work of choosing presence over pat answers.

We talk about why people reach for platitudes in the first place: discomfort, fear, and the reflex to fix what can’t be fixed. Together, we examine the false hierarchy of loss that pits experiences against each other, and we share how separating spaces—loss, trying after loss, pregnancy after loss—can actually reduce comparison and increase care. You’ll hear concrete language swaps, gentle questions that open a door instead of closing one, and simple ways to show up that don’t require a solution: sitting in silence, remembering dates, checking in after the initial shock fades.

This conversation also looks at the “good vibes only” mindset and how it slips into support as quick tips and toxic positivity. We reflect on cultural habits that push activity over acknowledgment—from pep talks to one-size-fits-all “fixes”—and why real healing starts with being witnessed. If you’ve ever struggled with what to say, or if platitudes have left you feeling unseen, this episode offers a compassionate, practical framework: get comfortable being uncomfortable, ask better questions, and let people lead their own stories.

If this resonated, share it with someone who wants to support better, subscribe for future conversations, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your voice helps change the way we show up for grief.

Related Episodes:

• E14: The Unspoken Agony of Life after Multiple Miscarriages (ft. Miscarriage Mumma Support - part 4)
• E18: Doing Right by Grief (ft. Miscarriage Mumma Support)

Visit Miscarriage Mumma for more information and resources. 

Show Music from Soundstripe:

• Vinyl Glow by Joachim
• East London by Nu Alkemi$t
• Nowhere Left To Turn by Ghost Beatz
• Caesura by Hale (theme)

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

A lot of people want to help—and end up reaching for the worst sentence in the English language: “Everything happens for a reason.” We go straight at the hard stuff with the hosts of the Still Parents podcast, unpacking why platitudes land like a slap, how they fuel self‑doubt for grieving parents, and what real support sounds like when words fall short. Along the way, we share the story behind Still Parents—born in lockdown, built on honest conversation, and now recognized with nominations at the British Podcast Awards—and why that visibility matters for dads who are told to “man up” instead of speak up.

Together We Care becomes more than a theme as we compare emotional pain to physical pain, explore the long tail of grief after baby loss, and underline how presence beats quick fixes every time. We talk intent versus impact, faith and friction, and the small unspectacular acts that mean everything: a hot meal, a late‑night answer, a friend who listens without trying to solve. Think of grief like a museum where the bereaved is the tour guide; your job is to follow their lead. No timetables. No reasons. Just respect for a love that didn’t end.

If you’ve ever wondered what to say to a grieving parent—or feared saying the wrong thing—this conversation offers practical language, grounded empathy, and permission to choose silence over cliché. Listen, share with someone who needs it, and if this resonated, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what words of care have helped you most?

Related Episode:

• E38: Still Parents - Grief, Identity, & Purpose (ft. Still Parents Podcast)
• E15: When Faith Falters in the Face of Miscarriage (ft. Chris Cheatham)
• E16: Cliché-anity: When Consolation Becomes Controversy (ft. Mary)

Listen to the Still Parents Podcast here

Show Music from Soundstripe:

• Daybreak by Ghost Beatz
• Penn Station by Ghost Beatz
• Collaverating by Sam Barsh
• Caesura by Hale (theme)

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Welcome to the Narrative Series, a poetic frame exploring a father's perspective of pregnancy and pregnancy loss.

What happens when grief meets love on Father's Day? This poignant episode features a heart-wrenching letter written from the perspective of an unborn child to their father. The raw emotions capture both the devastating loss and the enduring connection that remains after pregnancy loss.

"From the very first time you thought of me and loved me, I felt it," the letter begins, immediately immersing us in the profound bond that forms even before birth. Through gentle, innocent language, we experience the child acknowledging their father's pain while offering a unique perspective on their shared connection. The letter beautifully articulates how love transcends physical presence: "You just loved me before you even saw me and that's the best gift ever."

For fathers navigating the complex emotions of pregnancy loss, this episode offers a tender framework for understanding grief as an extension of love. The letter doesn't shy away from difficult emotions, acknowledging the pain of missed milestones and Father's Day celebrations. Yet it also provides comfort in the idea that the relationship continues in a different form: "I live in your heart... like a little whisper of our love that was there and will always be there."

Have you experienced the invisible bonds that remain after loss? If this message resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need these words of comfort today. Remember that acknowledging grief is a powerful step toward healing, and that love persists even when physical presence cannot.

CONTACT
[email protected]

INSTAGRAM
@_dadalways
@themiscarriagedads

Dad Always is the community you don't know you need.

Narrated by: Julius'Camillo Jean-Philippe

Script by: Kelly Jean-Philippe

Music: First Light by Half Measure

From Soundstripe

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Welcome to the Narrative Series, a poetic frame exploring the father's perspective of pregnancy and pregnancy loss experience.

Often times during a bereavement, the dad's experience of loss is drastically different than that of the mother.

A study titled, “Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model” published in January 2020 found, “… that in comparison to women, men may face different challenges including expectations to support female partners, and a lack of social recognition for their grief and subsequent needs. Men may face double-disenfranchised grief in relation to the pregnancy/neonatal loss experience.”

The Journal of Neonatal Nursing (vol 29, Issue 3) published another study June 2023 titled “Father’s Perception of the NICU Experience” which states that: “Research has revealed that more than 50% of NICU fathers experience feelings of inadequate emotional support and a lack of essential information regarding caring for their premature infants. Fathers reported that frequently, healthcare workers tend to approach the mother when discussing prognosis and determining medical decisions, which makes the fathers feel like an observer and not an active participant in their infant's care. These experiences caused the fathers to feel helpless, in the way, and excluded, which can add to the father's distress.” 

Overall, these studies only begin to scratch the surface of the multifaceted issues complicating fathers' disenfranchisement in hospital settings and during a bereavements. 

If you're a bereaved dad struggling with your loss (miscarriage, stillbirth, any neonatal) and want to discover your strength in grief, send an email to the address or a DM to either of the accounts below. 

CONTACT
[email protected]

INSTAGRAM
@_dadalways
@themiscarriagedads

Dad Always is the community you don't know you need.

Narrated by: Kelly Jean-Philippe

Music: Every Part Of You by Solitude

From: Podcastle.ai

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Welcome to the Narrative Series, a poetic frame exploring the father's perspective of pregnancy and pregnancy loss experience.

Narrated by: Kelly Jean-Philippe

Music: Cosmic Oceans by Caleb Etheridge

From: Podcastle.ai

LICENCE #: QFWRAL6SHKWJJNYF

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Hello!

This week's episode recalls the conversation we had in episode 14 with Sophie, founder of Miscarriage Mumma Support, in March 3, 2024. We hope you find listening to this episode again as helpful as we've experienced it to be for us.

For more information visit www.miscarriagemumma.com.

To connect with Kelly and Chris:

Email
[email protected]

Instagram
@themiscarriagedad
@miscarriage_support_for_dads

Also, make sure you subscribe to our podcast & write us a review!

Sincerely,
Kelly & Chris

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Hello!

Due to the upcoming holiday season, Chris and Kelly are taking a break until after the new year. In the meantime, we hope you find value in listening to some of the earlier episodes rereleased, and browse through our catalogue to find other conversations that may be helpful to what you're currently experiencing.

Here are a few ways you can contact us during this break:
Email: [email protected]

Instagram:
@themiscarriagedad
@miscarriage_support_for_dads

Wishing you a safe and meaningful end to 2024!

Sincerely,
Chris & Kelly

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Write us a review!