Dad Always

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.

Dad Always is a health podcast hosted by Kelly Jean-Philippe, with 67 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Kelly Jean-Philippe hosts Dad Always, a health show with 67 episodes published.

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  Episode #19

  E19: Grieving While the World Keeps On Moving

  Aug 3, 202615 min

  How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? The hardest part of grief can be how ordinary everything looks around you. One minute you’re walking out of an ultrasound room with the worst news of your life, and the next minute someone is smiling and saying “have a good day.” That clash can feel unreal, infuriating, and isolating, especially for dads navigating miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss while trying to “hold it together” at work and at home. I break down a concept that puts language to that experience: dissociative detachment. I describe it as living in two realities at once: the reality where you’ve lost your baby and your future just changed, and the reality where everyone else keeps moving as if nothing happened. I begin with the “womb of the imagination,” how becoming a father starts forming long before birth, and why the sudden end of that imagined future can leave you feeling numb, guilty, ashamed, or like you’re on autopilot. I also get practical. I share ways to handle those pockets of time when the gap between your grief and the outside world feels widest, why other people’s discomfort is not your burden, and when to reach out to a primary care doctor or licensed mental health professional. If you’re supporting a bereaved dad, I offer guidance on sharing your own life updates with care without forcing him to reassure you. If this resonates, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, leave a review to help other grieving fathers find the podcast, and share this with someone who needs language for what they’re carrying. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ SUPPORT PATHWAY If you are a bereaved dad who's struggling to cope with baby loss and you'd like to talk one-on-one, let's have a FREE private 30-minute conversation . Go to dadalways.com for more information. PEER-SUPPORT Black Dads in Loss Support Group For a list of other support groups through Postpartum Support International click here . 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. RELEVANT LITERATURE EMDR & Perinatal Mental Health Beyond the Worry: 7 Lesser-Known Signs of Postpartum Anxiety Trauma-Related Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders A HELPFUL VIDEO: 4 Types of Dissociation

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  Episode #18

  E18: The Empty Carrier (Reflecting On Another Kind Of Loss)

  May 18, 202619 min

  How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? Today's episode reflects on a different kind of loss: pet loss. In this experience, putting down my cat became the gateway to connecting with different aspects of baby loss. Lucky, my cat, was part of our home’s heartbeat, and the speed of his decline shook me more than I expected. From the first signs something was wrong to the vet’s clarity about kidney failure, I reflect on the moment love translates into action that still hurts. Grief gets loud in small bodies and in adult bodies too, and the goodbye at the vet, the empty carrier on the way home, and the broken routines afterward all left marks. That silence in the house became a mirror, reflecting something I've seen for years in baby loss and miscarriage grief, especially for dads trying to stay steady while their insides shift. This reflection is careful about comparisons while still taking grief seriously. It explores why “ranking” pain can be a way to avoid it, how bereavement can connect one loss to another without asking permission, and why grief does not need to be perfectly explained before it deserves attention. If you’re a grieving father, or you love one, you’ll find language here for the quiet parts: the empty spaces, the objects that sting, and the love that stays present even when the routine is gone. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more grieving dads can find 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 FREE private 30-minute conversation . Go to dadalways.com for more information. 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 God Remembers by Anthony Catacoli

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  Episode #17

  E17: A Father's Journey Through The Labyrinth Of Pregnancy Loss ft. Brandon Byrnes (re-released)

  May 4, 20261h 3m

  How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? This episode, released in 2023 on The Miscarriage Dad's Podcast, is reappropriated from another podcast I hosted called " Welcome To Fatherhood ". SHOW NOTES A doctor shrugs after telling a couple they’re going to lose their twins, and that single moment becomes a scar you can feel years later. Brandon Byrnes joins me to share the full story: the shock of finding out they were expecting twins, the joy of watching them move on an ultrasound, weeks of bed rest and fear, and then the frantic drive to the hospital as the pregnancy ends. We don’t sensationalize miscarriage and pregnancy loss, but we also don’t soften what it can do to a marriage, a nervous system, and a parent’s sense of safety. We talk about the part that often goes unspoken: fatherhood grief. Brandon describes how military training helped him function in chaos and how the real emotional impact landed later, like a constant noise in the background of his life. We dig into medical trauma, anger, and the helpless “solve it” instinct many men feel when there’s nothing left to fix. If you’ve ever searched for support after miscarriage, coping with infant loss, or how to help your spouse through pregnancy loss, you’ll hear language you can actually use. We also make room for meaning. Brandon shares how they honored their twins through remembrance, why naming Taylor and Jaden mattered, and how listening without advice can become a form of healing for dads who don’t have many places to put this kind of pain. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more parents and partners can find it. 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 FREE private 30-minute conversation . Go to dadalways.com for more information. Show Music from Soundstripe European Sunrise & God Remembers by Anthony Catacoli Among The Stars (Stripped) by Violet Mourning Drift by Bobo Renthlei

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  Episode #16

  E16: Grief Is A Companion for Life ft. Hashim's Dad (Azher Rubanni) part 2

  Apr 27, 202658 min

  How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? Grief doesn’t end when the world stops checking on you. Sometimes it waits, quiet and contained, until another loss cracks the container and everything rushes back. This week concludes my conversation rich conversation with Azher Rubanni, a dad who has lived with infant loss for two decades, and he shares the moment he realized that staying in “loss” wasn’t serving him and that growth can live in giving, purpose, and remembering his son, Hashim, as a gift. We explore what resurfaced grief for Azher years later: business collapse, identity loss, divorce, and the shock of losing a parent. The conversation gets painfully specific about triggers that many grieving fathers recognize but rarely say out loud: birthdays that line up with the day your baby was born, pregnancies in the family, and watching kids grow into the age your child would have been. We also name a stigma that keeps dads isolated and then flip it with one clear reframe: grief is love. Tears are not proof you’re failing. They’re proof your bond is still real. Then we get practical. Azher shares the benefits of expressive writing for grief and trauma. You’ll hear a structured letter-writing framework built for dads who want a purposeful process: name the loss, name what you want, decide who walks with you, choose a next step, and write directly to your child. We close by discussing the STILL method , a method developed by Azher, and a set of resources for those interested in learning more. You can find these gifts here . If you’re carrying miscarriage grief, stillbirth grief, or infant loss grief, come listen, share this with another dad, and leave a review so more fathers can find a way to move with grief rather than trying to move on. 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 FREE private 30-minute conversation . Go to dadalways.com for more information. 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 Ocean Blue & Belvedere by Cody Martin

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  Episode #15

  E15: Grief Is A Companion For Life ft. Hashim's Dad (Azher Rubanni) part 1

  Apr 20, 202659 min

  How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss? How do you live after your baby dies without feeling like you’re betraying them by surviving? That question sits at the center of my conversation with Azher Rubanni, a father who lost his son Hashim in a full-term stillbirth 20 years ago. We get honest about what many dads feel but rarely say: the pressure to be the “strong one,” the instinct to suppress emotion to protect your partner and kids, and the quiet fear that if the pain ever dulls, you’ll be forgetting your child. Azher walks us through the day everything changed, including the moment he decided, in a hospital car park, that he would become the supporter no matter what it cost him inside. We talk about telling his three sons their brother would not be coming home, the cultural forces that tried to keep children away from grief, and why inviting kids into the truth can build trust for life. We also explore how different grieving styles inside a marriage can create distance, and why the workplace can become both a refuge and a trap, especially for fathers who feel they must “perform” competence while falling apart. Then we shift to what helps over the long term. Azher offers a powerful alternative to the language of “healing” and “moving on”: reconciliation . He breaks it into three parts: reconciling with yourself reconciling with your child’s memory and reconciling with the relationships you still have. If you’re navigating stillbirth, miscarriage, baby loss, or parenting after loss, this one is a grounded, candid conversation for fathers and the people who love them. Subscribe, share with a dad who needs it, and leave a review telling us what part hit home. 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 FREE private 30-minute conversation . Go to dadalways.com for more information. 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 Sunfrost by Cody Martin First Bloom by Moments Farewells by Shimmer

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