The Rainbow Connection

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.