Dad Always

Kelly Jean-Philippe

Dad Always is a baby loss podcast created for fathers grieving miscarriage, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons, and infant loss. Hosted by Kelly Jean-Philippe, the podcast centers the often-overlooked experiences of bereaved fathers—men who grieve deeply, even when that grief is quiet or unseen. Through honest conversations, personal stories, and reflective episodes, Dad Always explores grief, fatherhood, and the enduring bond between dads and their children. Listeners will hear from dads and parents who have experienced baby loss, as well as from professionals and advocates who support families after loss. Some episodes include artistically crafted reflections that hold what words alone cannot. Dad Always is a space where dads don’t need to explain or justify their grief—and where meaning and pain are allowed to coexist.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    E8: Grief, Choice, & Parenting After Loss ft. Jane Armstrong (part 2)

    How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? This week concludes my conversation with Jane Armstrong, LCSW-S, QCSW, PMH-C. Jane is a TFMR & miscarriage mom, a native Texan transplanted in Colorado, & a clinical social worker certified in perinatal mental health. Following the birth & death of her first child, Frankie, through TFMR, Jane opened Both/And Therapy, PPLC to provide therapy & support groups to other TFMR parents. These services provide support around the unique barriers & grief of ending a wanted pregnancy, particularly in states where such care is no longer accessible. She also started her @tfmrsocialworker account on Instagram to raise awareness, reduce stigma, & help TFMR parents to know that they are not alone. She’s passionate about building community, eliminating shame, & honoring grief for TFMR families everywhere. KEY TAKEAWAYS: • survival mode, control, and turning to faith • visible pregnancy while grieving and the harm of small talk • legal fear, isolation, and engineered loneliness • reasons families may end a nonviable pregnancy • sacrifice myths, parental health, and competing needs • loss hierarchies and why comparison harms • language, stigma, and finding community • continuing bonds and everyday rituals for memory • resources for TFMR parents and dad-specific spaces RELATED EPISODES: E7: Grief, Choice, & Parenting After Loss (part 1) BLAW 2025: Talking Platitudes with Miscarriage Mumma Support SUPPORT PATHWAY If you are a bereaved dad who's quietly struggling to cope with baby loss and you'd like to talk one-on-one, let's have a private 20-minute conversation by emailing info@dadalways.com.  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 Alone in the Light by Great Oaks

    43 min
  2. 23 FEB

    E7: Grief, Choice, & Parenting After Loss ft. Jane Armstrong (part 1)

    How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? This week's guest is Jane Armstrong, LCSW-S, QCSW, PMH-C. Jane is a TFMR & miscarriage mom, a native Texan transplanted in Colorado, & a clinical social worker certified in perinatal mental health. Following the birth & death of her first child, Frankie, through TFMR, Jane opened Both/And Therapy, PPLC to provide therapy & support groups to other TFMR parents. These services provide support around the unique barriers & grief of ending a wanted pregnancy, particularly in states where such care is no longer accessible. She also started her @tfmrsocialworker account on Instagram to raise awareness, reduce stigma, & help TFMR parents to know that they are not alone. She’s passionate about building community, eliminating shame, & honoring grief for TFMR families everywhere. KEY TAKEAWAYS: • defining TFMR and why words matter • how laws and timelines limit medical care • the shock and silence of a hard ultrasound • diagnosis details and the Google spiral • different coping styles inside a marriage • hope, miracle language, and faith tensions • the myth of control in family building • grief, isolation, and finding support SUPPORT PATHWAY If you are a bereaved dad who's quietly struggling to cope with baby loss and you'd like to talk one-on-one, let's have a private 20-minute conversation by emailing info@dadalways.com.  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 Life In Slow Motion by Adam Agin Ghostly Trails by Alsever Lake

    36 min
  3. 17 FEB

    Dear Brother

    How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? Some moments break language and redraw our lives in an instant. "Dear Brother" is a raw, compassionate letter to men grieving the death of their child—a message that refuses easy answers and hollow comfort, and instead offers steady presence, honest words, and space to breathe. It highlights the questions that echo after loss—Why did this happen? Could anything have changed it?—and why resisting quick explanations can be an act of deep respect for love and grief alike. The letter examines how unhelpful platitudes can wound, even when well meant, and what truly supportive language sounds like. It explores practical ways to hold space:  Naming the reality without fixing it Checking in without pressure, and Showing up with specific, tangible helpThe letter leans on the Kintsugi metaphor—the art of repairing broken pottery with gold—not to gloss over pain, but to honor how identity can be reshaped by absence, and how fractures can become part of a life that still holds beauty, purpose, and meaning. Most importantly, "Dear Brother" gives grieving dads permission to linger in the dark. Grief has no timetable; sometimes the kindest act is to sit silently beside someone who cannot yet face the day. The letter promises presence even when words fail, and imagines a future in which memory softens from flame to light—the child’s light—guiding, not erasing, what came before.  If you or someone you love is navigating profound loss, this letter offers language, empathy, and practices that keep dignity at the center. If it resonates, share it with a friend who needs gentleness today, subscribe for more thoughtful episodes, and leave a review to help others find this space.

    6 min
  4. 16 FEB

    E6: Who Gets To Grieve When A Baby Dies? ft. Michael Elliott (part 2)

    How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? This is part 2 of my conversation with Michael Elliot. We resume from where we left off last week, and explore fatherhood after miscarriage through vivid memories, tangible rituals, and the everyday courage it takes to speak a child’s name that few got to meet. Grief is framed as love that changed color, sustained by community, storytelling, and symbols that keep a bond alive. KEY TAKEAWAYS: • the last of firsts and unrealized milestones • identity as a dad after loss • bracelets, tattoos, and wind chimes as anchors • grief as a continuation of love • breaking the silence and reducing stigma • better questions for supporting grieving parents • community care during and after a loss • returning to work and navigating awkward spaces • choosing to move forward, not move on RELATED EPISODES Who Gets To Grieve When A Baby Dies? (part 1)The Elephant In The RoomReimagining Life After Loss SUPPORT PATHWAY If you are a bereaved dad who's quietly struggling to cope with baby loss and you'd like to talk one-on-one, request a private 20-minute conversation by emailing info@dadalways.com.  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 Love Poems by Lunareh Time Shift by Reveille

    44 min
  5. 9 FEB

    E5: Who Gets To Grieve When A Baby Dies? ft. Michael Elliott (part 1)

    How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? In part 1 of my conversation with Michael Elliot, we trace Michael’s path from early joy and provider pressure to the ultrasound room where a missed heartbeat rewrote his future. He unpacks stoicism, the awkward retraction of public joy, and why men’s grief after baby loss must be seen, named, and supported. KEY TAKEAWAYS: • fear and motivation colliding during early pregnancy • provider identity shaping choices and silence • the ultrasound shock and immediate emotional response • first private breakdown and redefining support • telling people, then retracting joy online • connection through shared miscarriage stories • dads being asked about mom but not themselves • first-year milestones • men’s grief as valid and visible • honoring both parents in baby loss SUPPORT If you are a bereaved dad who's quietly struggling to cope with baby loss and you'd like to talk one-on-one, request a private 20-minute conversation by emailing info@dadalways.com.  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 Apple Brandy by Midnight Daydream Azul by Lunareh

    40 min
  6. 2 FEB

    E4: The Missing Half Of Fertility Care (ft. Gabriela Rosa)

    How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? Grief doesn’t hand out uniforms, but our systems still dress dads in silence. Gabriela Rosa joins the podcast to spotlight the missing half of fertility care and the very real ways men carry loss—often without acknowledgment, language, or a place to stand. From first ultrasounds to failed transfers, the default model treats women as the patient and men as the waiting room, and families pay for that gap with confusion and mounting shame. Gabriela Rosa is a Harvard-trained fertility specialist and founder of the world’s first fully virtual fertility clinic. She has spent over two decades walking couples through the most fragile moments of their reproductive journeys - including loss. In her work with thousands of families across the globe, one thing has become painfully clear: men are grieving too, but almost no one is giving them space to talk about it.  Gabriela walks us through a smarter, kinder approach: lead with diagnostics, not assumptions. She breaks down why most IVF cycles fail, where “unexplained” infertility hides solvable causes, and how overlooked factors can drive implantation failure and miscarriage. You’ll hear a powerful case study where years of failed IUIs and IVF turned into a natural conception once both partners were fully assessed and treated. The message is clear: fertility is a team sport, and strategy beats trial-and-error. We also get practical about communication at home. We talk about pacing heavy talks, naming limits, and rebuilding self-trust after loss, especially for men taught to stay strong and say little. Along the way, we share scripts that replace platitudes with presence, and we point to resources—peer groups for men, evidence-based testing, and Gabriela’s Fertility Challenge Program—that make support real. If you’ve felt invisible in the fertility journey, or you’re tired of guessing your way through heartbreak, this conversation offers a map. Subscribe, share with someone who needs to feel seen, and leave a review telling us one question you’ll bring to your next conversation. 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.  Credits Fertility Breakthrough (website) Gabriela Rosa (profile) 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 WanderSo Tell MeBy EILOH

    1h 4m

About

Dad Always is a baby loss podcast created for fathers grieving miscarriage, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons, and infant loss. Hosted by Kelly Jean-Philippe, the podcast centers the often-overlooked experiences of bereaved fathers—men who grieve deeply, even when that grief is quiet or unseen. Through honest conversations, personal stories, and reflective episodes, Dad Always explores grief, fatherhood, and the enduring bond between dads and their children. Listeners will hear from dads and parents who have experienced baby loss, as well as from professionals and advocates who support families after loss. Some episodes include artistically crafted reflections that hold what words alone cannot. Dad Always is a space where dads don’t need to explain or justify their grief—and where meaning and pain are allowed to coexist.