Ontario woman who faked pregnancies pleads guilty to defrauding, harassing doulas

A Brantford woman accused of fraudulently seeking the services of more than a dozen doulas across Ontario by faking pregnancies has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud, indecent acts, false pretences and mischief. 

Kaitlyn Braun, 25, pleaded guilty to 21 of 52 charges in a Brantford courtroom on Thursday. Braun was first arrested in March after she sought the assistance of doulas for false pregnancies and false stillbirths from June 2022 to February of this year.

According to court documents submitted by the Crown, Braun coerced 19 victims into giving her massages while she was physically naked with the intent to insult or offend them. The allegations are that she sought their services with the intent to defraud them under the pretence of pregnancies that she knew were false. 

Braun also pleaded guilty to mischief for making a false statement to a Brantford police officer in February, accusing someone else of the offences to mislead the investigation. 

The identity of the doulas involved are covered by a publication ban. 

A doula is a trained professional who provides support to clients before, during and shortly after childbirth. They also help with grief and trauma around pregnancy loss, but they're not health-care professionals who deliver babies and they don't have access to medical records or equipment.

Case raises awareness

While doulas have certifications with different organizations, they are not registered with a regulating or governing body. 

"This has brought awareness to the fact that doulas are helpers and we're people who are so compassionate and want to support other people, and that in general is something that can be taken advantage of, but it's also something that's foundational to our work," said Stefanie Antunes with the Association of Ontario Doulas, which has between 300 and 400 members.

"We're obviously really glad to see that doulas came together to bring awareness to this at an official level, and we want to make sure that we stop seeing victims," Antunes said. 

"We really feel for all the victims and we're hopeful that they're able to get some peace in this situation, which of course, is never going to be done for them and their experience of it, that's something that lasts forever."

Some of the doulas that CBC News spoke to in March before the case went to court said the ordeal caused them severe trauma and the loss of valuable time and, in some cases, money. 

They all said Braun contacted them on social media to seek their services, including pregnancy loss support, stillbirth labour and labour. Braun would tell them the pregnancy was a result of sexual assault and that she had no support from her loved ones.

'A unique situation'

She gave them all different accounts of how far along in her pregnancy she was. Many doulas felt compassion for Braun and agreed to work with her free of charge, they said.

In her 20 years in the profession, Antunes has never seen a situation like this and worries it can cause doulas in the future to be doubtful of the troublesome and traumatic events Braun described to them, she said. 

"For a lot of doulas, their first instinct is going to be to not believe that person. I cannot imagine anything more terrible than someone who's truly experienced that, not being believed by a doula they're looking for support from," she said.  

"It's interesting when we think of how people can protect themselves or look for flags, but I just think the situation is so unique and there's no way people could prepare themselves for it."

Braun will return to court on Jan. 17 for sentencing and victim impact statements. Her lawyer did not respond to CBC's requests for comment.