Kaitlyn Braun hired a doula to act as a virtual guide through every step of a devastating birth, then sent her a photo of the stillborn baby. 

When the pregnancy coach learned the truth behind what had happened, it was even more disturbing than that heartbreaking image. 

Braun, a Canadian social worker, had enlisted more than 50 professional doulas to help her with traumatic, emergent and sometimes tragic pregnancy journeys.

But her claims were all completely fake. 

The truth emerged after a whistleblower shared her experience with Braun on social media, prompting more doulas to do the same. Dozens came forward with complaints.

There were so many abuse, harassment and fraud accusations thrown Braun's way that she found herself facing a judge.

But her victims were incensed by the 'slap on the wrist' sentence she received, and want to see a more fitting punishment when she's back in court in May. 

One of her victims, Jennifer Alexandrov, exclusively spoke to the Daily Mail ahead of the key court date.

Social worker Kaitlyn Braun from Brantford, Ontario, hired dozens of doulas over a year and a half period, persuading them to help her - but her tragic stories of having been sexually assaulted and stillbirths were all lies

Jennifer Alexandrov (pictured) is one of Braun's victims. She was duped into providing support to the fraudulent mother-to-be during a time of extreme trauma

Alexandrov, 42, was among the many doulas to be duped by Ontario-based Braun, who reached out on Instagram direct message in 2022 saying she'd been raped, impregnated, the fetus was dead and she desperately needed help with a traumatic stillbirth. 

She told the doula she had no support network. 

Alexandrov helped Braun through texts and phone calls. 

Other doulas she contacted during her charade provided in-person massages while she was naked. Some complained of harassment, others were left unpaid for their services.

But Braun was never really pregnant. She was faking a health crisis for reasons that her doulas, the police and psychiatrists still struggle to understand - it all points to her known history of mental health problems.

Doulas are trained professionals who support clients with childbirth, and help with grief and trauma around pregnancy loss. But they're not healthcare professionals who deliver babies, and they cannot access medical records.

Alexandrov, of Prince Edward County, Ontario, says her encounters with Braun were similar to those of the dozens of other doulas she conned.

The professional said she saw some 'red flags' in Braun's story, and limited her support to texts and phone calls - a practice that was not uncommon amid the pandemic.

But other doulas met with Braun - who is overweight, meaning even a late-stage pregnancy may not be visible - in person. 

Some massaged her, others accompanied her on bogus medical visits to clinics.

Braun repeatedly lied to the birthing partners she hired, claiming she was in labor or carrying a stillborn

Braun went as far as to take a doula to a health check-up, where an ultrasound scan (not pictured) showed nothing but an IUD  

She told some her 'pregnancy' was the result of sexual assault, but it was Braun who coerced 19 victims into giving her massages while she was naked 

In some cases, Braun, a social worker from Brantford, pretended to go through a stillbirth, even sending the doula a photo of a stillborn baby.

She told others she was losing blood, suffering organ failure or was in an air ambulance, says Alexandrov.

One doula said she even heard Braun make orgasm-like moans during a call.

The scams were highlighted in the six-part series The Con: Kaitlyn's Baby, from the BBC and Canada's CBC.

'I can only imagine the heartbreak and the trauma that she was doing to these doulas,' says Alexandrov.

'They now have to go on and support other clients and always have a guard up. That's not the way that it should be.'

Braun pleaded guilty in December 2023 to 21 charges of fraud, indecent acts, false pretenses and mischief, for seeking the help of doulas in fake pregnancies and stillbirths from June 2022 through February 2023.

She addressed her victims in court, acknowledging the 'hurt and pain' she'd caused, according to CBC and other outlets.

'I know that the words I speak today do not take back what I did and that they don't automatically create healing,' she said.

'However, it is my hope that my words, along with my plan of action, show that I'm a changed person.'

Court staff had learned of Braun's history of mental health woes, including memories of child sexual assault, depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.

Since 2006, she's visited a hospital more than 200 times, often without any ailment.

Braun was sentenced at Brantford's Court of Justice in February 2024 to two years of house arrest and three years of probation.

She was ordered to wear a GPS ankle bracelet, undergo counselling and not use the internet and social media for two years.

In April 2024, while under house arrest, Braun was falsely soliciting support from doulas again, despite her recent sentence.

She pleaded guilty in January to various fraud and harassment charges and breaching a sentencing order, for which she will be sentenced at the Superior Court of Justice in Hamilton on May 16.

Doulas are trained professionals who support clients with childbirth, but they're not health-care professionals who deliver babies and they cannot access medical records

Braun went to extreme lengths to maintain her pretense, telling them she had a bleeding disorder and terminal cancer, and sending two of them a picture of a stillborn baby at the end of her treatment

Some of the doulas supported Braun in person at her home in Brantford, others through the phone or over video chat

Alexandrov and other doulas say that officials never fully recognized the harm Braun caused. Some doulas required counselling after their experiences with her, others are 'on guard' with clients nowadays. Some quit the trade for good.

Some have said they've had to change how they advertise and enroll new clients - including adding false pretense clauses in their contracts, no longer offering virtual support and halting offers of free services or low-cost payment plans. 

Justice Robert Gee acknowledged at the time that his sentence was 'distasteful,' given the victim's trauma and suffering.

He said Braun was a young first-time offender who had pleaded guilty, and that went into his sentencing consideration.

Some of Braun's victims who were in court in 2024 burst into tears when the sentence was announced and later expressed their disappointment.

Alexandrov says, this time, the court should recognize Braun as a repeat offender, and that another 'slap on the wrist' won't stop her from hurting doulas in the future.

'She should be sentenced to a hospital that specializes in mental health conditions to get the help she needs, somewhere she can't access the internet and the platforms she uses to reach out and harm people,' the mom-of-three told the Daily Mail.

'She clearly needs help.'

Braun's lawyer, Alison Macdonald, said her client was 'awaiting sentencing,' and declined to comment further. 

Doulas have created online support and messaging groups and are ready for the next scam, but other professionals might not be so prepared. 

Alexandrov says the judge needs to do more to protect healthcare workers across Ontario.

'She can just change her story from pregnancy, stillbirth and rape and come up with another elaborate story to get support,' says Alexandrov.

'Maybe it's not doulas next time, maybe it's another profession that she exploits.'