35 min
A fathers perspective on life after stillbirth - connection, direction and navigating grief The Glimmer Podcast
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- Arts
Mitchell Delamotte joins Glimmer today to offer a ‘fathers perspective’ on pregnancy loss - an important and lesser-discussed experience. In this episode. Mitch explains how his daughter Pia’s stillbirth 4 years ago has shaped and altered his life.
Dr Ashleigh Smith asks about the early days after losing Pia, what the most difficult moments were, how his gender and parenting role coloured his experience, and how he managed his grief. Mitch opens up about running, fundraising for the Stillbirth Foundation, communicating with other men, the workforce and his experience with depression. He talks about tips for acknowledging your feelings, utilizing a therapist and the benefits of exercise. Mitch talks about running half marathons and fundraising, how running has many benefits – goal setting, role modeling for his son, endorphin release, distraction and exercise. He explains that soon after Pia’s stillbirth, he could only run for 18 minutes and now can run for over 3 hours.
The two discuss an email correspondence referencing the 4 year anniversary for Pia – Mitch had written in the email “it's starting to be a weird anniversary where there is a lot less grief than previous years, It's obviously not a celebration, but we cut cake like it would be. I don’t know if the English language has an appropriate word for what today feels like for myself, if there is, I certainly don't know it.”
Finally, Mitch offers a glimmer of hope and piece of wisdom to the listener who may be early on in the loss of his baby. This episode is made specifically for fathers, who have experienced pregnancy loss, and we wish a special message to say Happy fathers day to all the Dad’s listening – you are not alone and I’m sorry this is such a difficult time.
Links:
https://www.theglimmerproject.com/
https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html
https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/
Special thank you to:
- Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio),
- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track),
- Holly Ryan (Producer),
- Blue Hearts and the Stillbirth Foundation.
Mitchell Delamotte joins Glimmer today to offer a ‘fathers perspective’ on pregnancy loss - an important and lesser-discussed experience. In this episode. Mitch explains how his daughter Pia’s stillbirth 4 years ago has shaped and altered his life.
Dr Ashleigh Smith asks about the early days after losing Pia, what the most difficult moments were, how his gender and parenting role coloured his experience, and how he managed his grief. Mitch opens up about running, fundraising for the Stillbirth Foundation, communicating with other men, the workforce and his experience with depression. He talks about tips for acknowledging your feelings, utilizing a therapist and the benefits of exercise. Mitch talks about running half marathons and fundraising, how running has many benefits – goal setting, role modeling for his son, endorphin release, distraction and exercise. He explains that soon after Pia’s stillbirth, he could only run for 18 minutes and now can run for over 3 hours.
The two discuss an email correspondence referencing the 4 year anniversary for Pia – Mitch had written in the email “it's starting to be a weird anniversary where there is a lot less grief than previous years, It's obviously not a celebration, but we cut cake like it would be. I don’t know if the English language has an appropriate word for what today feels like for myself, if there is, I certainly don't know it.”
Finally, Mitch offers a glimmer of hope and piece of wisdom to the listener who may be early on in the loss of his baby. This episode is made specifically for fathers, who have experienced pregnancy loss, and we wish a special message to say Happy fathers day to all the Dad’s listening – you are not alone and I’m sorry this is such a difficult time.
Links:
https://www.theglimmerproject.com/
https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html
https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/
Special thank you to:
- Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio),
- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track),
- Holly Ryan (Producer),
- Blue Hearts and the Stillbirth Foundation.
35 min