Grief, Growth & the In-Between: A Doula’s Real-Time Reckoning
Before we begin, I want to gently let you know that this blog includes open, emotional reflections on pregnancy loss and miscarriage.
If you are currently navigating grief, loss, or pregnancy after loss, please take care of your heart as you read. I’m sharing from my own lived experience—not as a medical professional or therapist—but as a mother in mourning and healing. My hope is that these words offer comfort, resonance, or simply a reminder that you’re not alone.
If now isn’t the right time to continue, I honor that. Your well-being matters more than anything. This space is held with reverence for every parent who has carried life and loss.
This Wasn’t the Blog I Thought I’d Be Writing
I’m known for teaching doulas how to sell with soul, stand out online, and build booked-out birth businesses.
But today? This post isn’t steeped in sales strategy.
It’s rooted in truth. Transparency. And raw, unfiltered humanity.
A dear friend recently gifted me a bracelet etched with waves. It came with a note that shattered me—in the best way. It reminded me that tides shift. That we can learn to ride the waves. That if we trust them, they’ll carry us exactly where we’re meant to go.
Right now, I’m riding one of those waves in what I’ve come to call the in-between.
Time feels like it’s paused—just for me—while the world keeps moving.
What Happened: My Missed Miscarriage
A few weeks ago, during a routine ultrasound, I learned there was no heartbeat. I was supposed to be nine weeks.
No cramping. No bleeding. No warning.
Just silence.
Just the gut-wrenching knowing that something had changed—and the long, painful wait for my body to catch up.
As a doula, I’ve walked with women through loss. But this was mine. And no amount of training prepares you for the stillness of knowing you’re no longer pregnant, but still feel pregnant.
Life didn’t pause.
My toddler still needed snacks and snuggles. My clients still needed coaching. My team still needed answers. My business still demanded visibility.
And I was grieving a life that hadn’t physically left yet.
The Business of Grief: When Loss and Leadership Collide
This miscarriage cracked something open inside me.
I built this doula business on voice, visibility, and truth. But grief will test you.
It asks:
Can you lead when your energy is gone?
Can you show up when your heart feels broken?
Can you still sell your offers when you’re anything but “on”?
And I found myself coming back to this answer:
Yes—if I’m willing to be seen as I am.
I don’t want to be the coach who disappears during hard seasons. And I don’t want to fake strength I don’t feel.
So I let myself show up. Unpolished. Unfiltered. Human.
Because I teach my clients that realness is magnetic.
That your voice doesn’t lose power when it shakes.
That your story matters—especially when it’s messy.
What This Loss Is Teaching Me (About Life and Sales)
This experience has reminded me of everything I believe about heart-led sales:
Success isn’t measured by how many times you post—it’s how deeply you connect.
Authenticity isn’t optional—it’s the foundation.
People don’t need your perfection—they need your presence.
I teach doulas how to attract aligned clients and book out their services—but underneath that? I teach them how to trust themselves. To show up boldly. To lead with love.
This loss hasn’t pulled me off that mission—it’s deepened it.
I’m more committed than ever to helping birth workers build businesses that don’t break when life hits hard.
Because business should support your life—not swallow it.
How I’m Choosing to Show Up Now
Some mornings, I still wake up with waves of sadness.
But I’m also still here.
Still mothering. Still mentoring. Still leading.
Still believing that this part of my story belongs inside my business, too.
I refuse to cut parts of myself off to stay “on-brand.”
And if you’re in a hard season—whether it's grief, burnout, anxiety, or identity shifts—I want you to hear this loud and clear:
You are not broken.
You don’t have to wait to feel whole before you show up.
You just have to be honest.
A Soul-Led Invitation: Join Me June 24th
After a lot of self-reflection, I’ve decided to move my live masterclass to Tuesday, June 24th.
This isn’t going to be just another webinar.
It’s going to be the most soulful, heart-led event I’ve ever hosted—because I’m showing up inside one of the most vulnerable chapters of my life, and I’m doing it for you.
If you’ve been struggling to:
Stand out online
Sign consistent doula clients
Sell your services without feeling icky
Find your voice again after a hard season
Then this is for you.
💻 Join me for the Doula Success Roadmap: Book 3 Clients in 30 Days
You’ll learn how to master the ONE skill that moves the needle in every doula business: selling to serve.
Because you didn’t start this work to stay stuck.
You started it to make an impact. To be booked with the right clients. To feel lit up by your work—not burnt out by the hustle.
Let this be the moment everything shifts.
Final Words
This wasn’t an easy blog to write. But it was a necessary one.
Because grief belongs here.
Your whole self belongs here.
You are allowed to lead and grieve.
To pause and still be powerful.
To bleed and still rise.
Thank you for letting me share my story—and thank you for being a part of this community where women are allowed to be human and still wildly successful.
I’ll be back soon with more on sales, visibility, and bold doula branding.
But today, I just wanted to sit beside you.
With love and presence,
Lisa
