Hi, I’m Dr. Kiley.
I am a neurodivergent coach, occupational therapist, mentor, and bereaved mother, specializing in reproductive mental health across the lifespan.
In 2005, I endured the tragedy of my first child Norbert being stillborn. My second child Roxie was born 14 months later, and I suffered from undiagnosed postpartum PTSD for many years after her birth. At the time, there was a general lack of awareness and education around mental health—both during pregnancy, postpartum, and especially in people who had experienced pregnancy and infant loss. I did not know I was autistic at the time, but I now see how much this impacted my loss experience.
It was only once I had the courage to share my story of pregnancy loss with others when our film RETURN TO ZERO was launched into the world—to connect to the larger community of other parents who had also experienced the unimaginable—that I began to find healing. I was an extremely private person, so sharing my story publicly made me feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. However, once I broke the silence around my experience, I felt less alone, less shame, and my feelings were validated.
I then used my background of Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Occupational Therapy to create Return to Zero: HOPE, the nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the culture of pregnancy and infant loss.
Becoming a parent has been challenging for me by pushing my nervous system into constant hyper-arousal. I can see now that my strategies for self-regulation (which I wasn’t aware of at the time) became unavailable once I had a living child. The entire family suffered. Much later I discovered I am neurodivergent (Autistic-ADHD). It has been a positive, life-changing experience. The diagnosis gives me a lens and language with which to better understand myself and the way I navigate through life.
I am honored to use my personal life experiences together with my education and evidence-based research to forge new pathways to guide and support persons who are isolated, feeling unseen and invalidated, to create a life that feels authentic.
I live a full life in Los Angeles with my two living children and two cats. I strive (not quite there) to find balance through baking, long walks, yoga, travel, wooden jigsaw puzzles, and singing in a community choir.
Credentials
Doctorate, Occupational Therapy
Master’s Degree, Occupational Therapy
Perinatal Mental Health-Certification (PMH-C)
Return to Zero: HOPE
In 2018, Kiley founded Return to Zero: HOPE (RTZ HOPE), a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve mental health through the advancement of pregnancy and infant loss awareness, education, and support. RTZ HOPE consists of a community of bereaved families and their health providers who are transforming the culture of pregnancy and infant loss.
