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Constance joins me to share the story of her daughter Lucy who passed shortly after birth due to a life-limiting diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). In this conversation, Constance reflects on receiving Lucy’s diagnosis at the 20-week anatomy scan and navigating a medical system that often felt clinical and outcome-focused, rather than centred on her baby’s life.

We talk about what it means to continue a pregnancy with a life-limiting diagnosis — to choose presence, advocacy, and deep connection, even in the face of uncertainty. Constance shares about Lucy’s birth, the time they had together, and the heartbreak of saying goodbye.

She also opens up about how this experience reshaped her faith, identity, and understanding of motherhood, and what it looked like to step into pregnancy after loss, eventually welcoming her rainbow baby while continuing to honour Lucy as a foundational part of her story.

This is a conversation about intentional love — about mothering a baby for their entire life, no matter how long that life is.

We talk about:

•  Receiving a CDH diagnosis at the 20-week anatomy scan 
•  Navigating medical care that felt impersonal and outcome-driven 
•  Choosing to continue the pregnancy after a life-limiting diagnosis 
•  Advocating for Lucy and her birth experience 
•  Birth and time with a baby who passed shortly after 
•  Grief, faith, and rebuilding identity after infant loss 
•  Pregnancy after loss and holding fear alongside hope 
•  Welcoming a rainbow baby while honouring Lucy 
•  Motherhood after loss and living in both grief and love 

This episode is a reminder that even the briefest lives are deeply meaningful and that the love we carry for our babies continues to shape us, forever.

Get to know Constance:
Constance is a stay-at-home mom and military spouse living in Georgia. She is a former professional ballerina who danced with Ballet Austin in Austin, Texas, before stepping away from the stage to become a mother. Life after loss has taken her through grief, rebuilding her faith, cross-country moves, and the realities of military life — all while mothering her children and honoring the daughter who changed everything.

Guest Links:
Instagram: @constybleek

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

Send us Fan Mail

Constance joins me to share the story of her daughter Lucy who passed shortly after birth due to a life-limiting diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). In this conversation, Constance reflects on receiving Lucy’s diagnosis at the 20-week anatomy scan and navigating a medical system that often felt clinical and outcome-focused, rather than centred on her baby’s life.

We talk about what it means to continue a pregnancy with a life-limiting diagnosis — to choose presence, advocacy, and deep connection, even in the face of uncertainty. Constance shares about Lucy’s birth, the time they had together, and the heartbreak of saying goodbye.

She also opens up about how this experience reshaped her faith, identity, and understanding of motherhood, and what it looked like to step into pregnancy after loss, eventually welcoming her rainbow baby while continuing to honour Lucy as a foundational part of her story.

This is a conversation about intentional love — about mothering a baby for their entire life, no matter how long that life is.

We talk about:

•  Receiving a CDH diagnosis at the 20-week anatomy scan 
•  Navigating medical care that felt impersonal and outcome-driven 
•  Choosing to continue the pregnancy after a life-limiting diagnosis 
•  Advocating for Lucy and her birth experience 
•  Birth and time with a baby who passed shortly after 
•  Grief, faith, and rebuilding identity after infant loss 
•  Pregnancy after loss and holding fear alongside hope 
•  Welcoming a rainbow baby while honouring Lucy 
•  Motherhood after loss and living in both grief and love 

This episode is a reminder that even the briefest lives are deeply meaningful and that the love we carry for our babies continues to shape us, forever.

Get to know Constance:
Constance is a stay-at-home mom and military spouse living in Georgia. She is a former professional ballerina who danced with Ballet Austin in Austin, Texas, before stepping away from the stage to become a mother. Life after loss has taken her through grief, rebuilding her faith, cross-country moves, and the realities of military life — all while mothering her children and honoring the daughter who changed everything.

Guest Links:
Instagram: @constybleek

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

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In this episode, I sit down with Anne Matthews, a fertility acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner based in Oakville, Ontario, to talk about fertility, IVF, IUI, and what integrative support can look like while trying to conceive.

For many women — especially those navigating pregnancy loss — trying again can feel overwhelming. It’s not just about ovulation charts or embryo transfers. It’s about trust, nervous systems, grief, and hope living side by side.

Anne shares how acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can work alongside Western fertility treatments to support hormone balance, egg quality, uterine health, and emotional regulation. We also talk about the mental load of fertility treatments and how to care for your body without slipping into blame or shame.

We talk about:

• How acupuncture supports IVF and IUI
• The connection between the nervous system and fertility
• TTC after miscarriage and rebuilding trust in your body
• Integrating Eastern and Western medicine
• Supporting egg quality and uterine environment
• The emotional weight of trying to conceive
• Advocating for yourself in fertility care
• Why your body is not broken
  
  

This episode is a grounded, empowering reminder that fertility support can be layered, holistic, and compassionate.

Get to Know Anne:

Anne Matthews is a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and fertility acupuncturist based in Oakville, Ontario. With advanced training in Chinese medicine and nutrition, Anne specializes in supporting women through fertility challenges, IVF and IUI cycles, and integrative reproductive care. Her approach blends evidence-based practice with whole-person support — helping women feel informed, empowered, and cared for while trying to conceive.

Instagram: @energytreeanne

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Membership: thedoulalife.ca/haven
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim
🌸 Mother Like No Other — TTC After Loss Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

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Mahaley and Ravi Patel join me to share the story of their daughter, Saachi.

After complications during birth led to meconium aspiration, Saachi spent five days in the NICU before her parents said had to say goodbye. In this episode, Mahaley and Ravi gently reflect on those early days — the hope, the uncertainty, the sacred time they were given — and the heartbreak of leaving the hospital without their baby.

Mahaley, a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in perinatal mental health, grief, trauma, and infant and child loss, speaks openly about what it was like to be supporting families through birth trauma and NICU experiences while navigating the loss of her own daughter. Losing Saachi profoundly deepened and redirected her work — shaping how she now holds space for bereaved parents and ultimately leading her to write her book, Your NICU Story, a resource born from both clinical expertise and lived experience.

Ravi shares honestly about fatherhood in grief, the strain and strengthening of their marriage, and what survival mode truly looked like in those first months.

Over time, their story expanded to include pregnancy after loss, surrogacy, and the arrival of their rainbow babies — all while continuing to honour Saachi in their everyday lives.

We talk about:

• Saachi’s birth and her time in the NICU
• Meconium aspiration and unexpected birth complications
• The sacred and painful experience of saying goodbye
• Grieving differently within a marriage
• Supporting one another when both partners are hurting
• How losing a child reshapes identity and professional calling
• The creation of Your NICU Story and supporting other NICU families
• Pregnancy after loss and cautious hope
• Parenting rainbow babies while carrying enduring love

This episode is a reminder that a baby’s life — no matter how brief — can alter the course of a family forever. Saachi’s life continues to ripple outward, shaping the way her parents love, parent, work, and serve other grieving families.

Get to Know Mahaley:

Mahaley Patel, LMFT, PMH-C is a licensed therapist specializing in perinatal mental health, grief, trauma, and infant/child loss. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA and a Master’s degree from Pepperdine University. With a compassionate and client-centered approach, Mahaley is dedicated to supporting individuals navigating their journey to and through parenthood. She also serves on the bereaved parent advisory board at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and runs a child loss support group for grieving parents. Beyond her professional work, she is a wife, a mother of four, and a bereaved parent, bringing both personal and clinical experience to her practice.

Website: www.mahaleypatel.com
Instagram: @mahaleyhpatel
Read her book "Your NICU Story": https://a.co/d/07dscQMi

Connect with Kristin:

📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven (use code RAINBOW to save $100)
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim (use code RECLAIM to save $100)
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

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Alexa Conlon joins me to share the story of her son, Kayde, who was stillborn after a pregnancy that appeared healthy and full of hope. In this episode, Alexa reflects on the shock of stillbirth, the unraveling that followed, and what it means to continue mothering—both the children she holds and the one she carries in her heart. We explore healing after stillbirth, the complexities of motherhood after loss, and the quiet resilience that so many loss mothers embody.

We talk about:

• The shock and disbelief that often accompany stillbirth
• Letting go of the illusion of “safe” milestones in pregnancy
• Grieving a baby while parenting living children
• The long, non-linear path of healing after stillbirth
• Creating space for grief without trying to fix it
• Honouring a baby’s legacy through advocacy and community support
• The quiet strength of mothers who carry both love and sorrow

This episode is a powerful reminder that grief and beauty can coexist—and that love continues, even after goodbye.

Get to Know Alexa:
Alexa Conlon is a nurse, mother of two earthside children, and a loss mom honoring her stillborn son, Kayde. Based in Alberta, Canada, she is the founder and host of Beyond the Birth Story Podcast and the Founder & Coordinator of The Kayde Foundation, a non-profit offering perinatal loss support services. Alexa shares her story with honesty and heart, believing deeply in the quiet strength of mothers who carry both love and sorrow.

Instagram: @beyondthebirthstorypodcast @alexaa.conlon @thekaydefoundation
The Kayde Foundation: https://thekaydefoundation.wixsite.com/thekaydefoundation

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven (use code RAINBOW to save $100)
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim (use code RECLAIM to save $100)
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review—it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Deanna shares the story of her miscarriage during an already emotionally heavy season — planning a wedding in the middle of COVID, navigating infertility, and finally seeing two pink lines. Her pregnancy loss unfolded quickly, quietly, and just days before a major life milestone, forcing her to carry grief alongside celebration. We talk about trusting intuition, the complicated nature of early miscarriage, and how pregnancy after loss reshaped her understanding of motherhood, healing, and care.

We talk about:

• Experiencing miscarriage just days before a wedding
• Early pregnancy loss and the validity of early grief
• Trusting intuition and body awareness during pregnancy
• Navigating milestones while grieving
• Pregnancy after loss and becoming a mother
• How loss changes identity and life direction
• Bringing lived experience into motherhood and caregiving
• Holding grief and gratitude at the same time

This episode is a powerful reminder that grief doesn’t follow timelines — and that even early loss can leave a lasting mark. It’s a story about honoring intuition, making space for sorrow, and finding your way into motherhood after loss.

Get to Know Deanna:

Deanna is a registered nurse, mother of two, and perinatal support provider living in Newtonville, Ontario. After experiencing miscarriage and pregnancy after loss, her personal journey deeply shaped the way she shows up for families in the early stages of parenthood. Through her work, she brings empathy, presence, and lived understanding to the care she offers parents navigating both joy and grief.

Instagram: @dee.themamacoach

Website: deanna-kennedy.themamacoach.com

Life With a Baby: lifewithababy.com

Still Held: @still.held

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life


If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of The Rainbow Connection, Kristin sits down with Dr. Gertrude Lyons for a rich, grounding conversation about motherhood, identity, and what so many women quietly grieve after becoming mothers. Together, they explore how loss, transformation, and mothering intersect — and how many women find themselves navigating not only grief for the babies they’ve lost, but for parts of themselves that have shifted, softened, or disappeared along the way. This episode invites listeners into a more expansive understanding of motherhood — one that honors devotion without demanding self-erasure, and makes room for healing, spirituality, and becoming again.

We talk about:

• Motherhood as a transformational initiation
• The quiet grief of identity loss many mothers carry
• Rewriting inherited narratives of sacrifice
• Holding motherhood and selfhood at the same time
• Loss, healing, and expansion after life-altering transitions
• Why motherhood doesn’t require our disappearance
• Reclaiming creativity, spirituality, and wholeness

This episode is a powerful reminder that grief and growth can coexist — and that even after loss, there is space for truth, expansion, and remembering who you are.

Get to know Dr. Gertrude Lyons:

Dr. Gertrude Lyons is an author, coach, and speaker devoted to expanding how we understand motherhood, identity, and creation. Through her coaching, retreats, workshops, and her book Rewrite the Mother Code: From Sacrifice to Stardust, she challenges limiting beliefs around motherhood and gently dismantles the narrow roles women have long been placed in. Her work invites a more expansive truth — that all women mother, that mother energy is accessible to all of us, and that motherhood is deeply connected to spirituality, community, and creation. At the heart of her work is a celebration of women as powerful creators, reclaiming their fullest expression of life.

Instagram: @drgertrudelyons
Website: https://www.drgertrudelyons.com

Connect with Kristin:

📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven (use code RAINBOW to save $100)
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim (use code RECLAIM to save $100)
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review — it helps these stories and resources reach the women who need them most. And if someone came to mind while listening, please share it with them. Your support truly means so much.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of The Rainbow Connection, Alana Fear shares the story of her son, Warren, and the shock of experiencing stillbirth after a healthy pregnancy. She reflects on how quickly life can change, the grief that follows when the future you imagined disappears, and how loss reshapes your relationship with hope. Alana also opens up about her pregnancy after loss, navigating fear, cautious optimism, and the reality of carrying new life while continuing to grieve the child who should be here.

We talk about:

• Experiencing stillbirth after a healthy pregnancy
• The loss of innocence that comes with pregnancy loss
• Navigating grief when life felt “perfect” before loss
• Pregnancy after loss and holding hope carefully
• Living as a mother to both the son she lost and the daughter who came after
• How loss reshapes trust in your body and the future
• Finding grounding in simple, ordinary moments after grief

This episode is a powerful reminder that grief and beauty can coexist — and that love does not end when a baby dies.

Get to know Alana:

Alana Fear lives in Etobicoke, Ontario with her husband, Matt, and their dog, Walter. She is a mother to her son, Warren, whom she lives to remember, and is currently pregnant with her daughter, due this November. Alana finds meaning in the simple things — a warm cup of tea, time in nature, music that meets her in the moment — and finds comfort through journaling, creativity, and storytelling.

Instagram: @fearalana
PAIL Network: https://pailnetwork.sunnybrook.ca/

Connect with Kristin:

📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven (use promo code RAINBOW to save $100)
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim (use promo code RECLAIM to save $100)
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

Send us Fan Mail

Kristen Dunbar shares the story of losing her baby to stillbirth at 38 weeks — a loss that arrived suddenly and changed everything she thought she knew about pregnancy, motherhood, and faith. In this episode, Kristen reflects on listening to her intuition, navigating pregnancy loss without answers, and continuing to mother her living children while grieving the baby she could not bring home. Together, we talk about healing after stillbirth, pregnancy after loss, and what life looks like when joy and grief exist side by side.

We talk about:

- Experiencing stillbirth late in pregnancy
- Intuition and recognizing when something feels wrong
- The shock and anger that can accompany pregnancy loss
- Grieving while continuing to parent other children
- Faith and meaning-making after stillbirth
- The loss of certainty in pregnancy after loss
- Motherhood after loss and continuing to show up
- Healing without answers

This episode is a tender, powerful reminder that grief and beauty can coexist — and that birth, even in loss, can absolutely be sacred.

Get to know Kristen:

Kristen Dunbar is a wife, mother, and homeschooling mom living in Lafayette, Louisiana. She and her husband have been married for nearly 21 years and are raising seven children on earth while honoring the babies they lost through chemical pregnancies, miscarriage, and stillbirth. A former educator, Kristen transitioned to homeschooling and full-time motherhood after a pregnancy-related stroke, grounding her life in faith, service, and family.

Redbird Ministries: www.redbird.love

Connect with Kristin:

📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven
🕊 RECLAIM — The PAL Birth Course: thedoulalife.ca/reclaim
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life


If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

Send us Fan Mail

In this tender and emotional episode, Lindsay Jackson shares the story of her daughter Amelia, who was born still just one week shy of seven months. Lindsay walks us through her pregnancies — a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, and finally her long-awaited baby girl — and the moment everything changed at her anatomy scan. Through fear, intuition, medical trauma, and the sacred weeks she carried Amelia against all odds, Lindsay offers an honest and deeply human look at pregnancy loss, stillbirth, and healing after heartbreak.

We talk about:

• Lindsay’s first miscarriage and the difficult, drawn-out process that followed
• Navigating an ectopic pregnancy and the emergency decisions she was forced to make
• Becoming pregnant again after loss and the terror of every ultrasound
• The moment her anatomy scan revealed devastating news
• How Amelia continued to hold on for six more weeks
• Hearing “there’s no heartbeat” and walking into labor with a broken heart
• The physical trauma and multiple surgeries that followed her loss
• How she and her husband are beginning to consider their future — including surrogacy
• What hope looks like when life keeps dropping you to your knees
• The ongoing process of healing while still honoring her daughter’s life

This episode is a tender, powerful reminder that grief and beauty can coexist — and that birth, even in loss, can be sacred.

Get to Know Lindsay:
Lindsay Jackson is a marketing professional living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her husband of four years and their beloved 14-year-old dog. Originally from Georgia, Lindsay has spent the last several years navigating a long and deeply emotional journey through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and the stillbirth of her daughter, Amelia. Her story is one of courage, intuition, and the daily work of choosing hope even when the path ahead feels uncertain. Lindsay’s openness, honesty, and resilience offer comfort and connection to anyone walking the road of pregnancy loss or motherhood after loss.

Instagram: @lsparis

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Support Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven

🌸 Mother Like No Other: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.