Questions to an End-of-Life Death Doula

 A Death Doula, or End of Life Doula, or Death Midwife is a non-medical and holistic practitioner who provides guidance and information to individuals and their families through the dying process by way of presence, support, advocacy, education, and companionship. Just as birth doulas support mothers birthing a new life, a death doula supports individuals leaving this life into the next.

Death Doulas are a calming and reassuring presence with knowledge of the process of dying, and a compassionate resource for families who may be overwhelmed and grieving at the impending death of their loved one. Death Doulas offer a variety of services to assist in the transition of dying, but are first and foremost a grounding, reliable, knowledgeable and comforting presence during a most emotional time.

 We highly recommend every individual and family facing a terminal illness and end of life to call their local hospice as soon as possible. Though our doula services do not replace hospice's medical team of nursing and physician care, we complement hospice teams seamlessly. We offer more time, more personalized attention, more continuity at bedside, more advocacy, and more availability beyond what hospice is normally able to provide due to Medicare guidelines. Our extensive training exceeds what hospice volunteer programs provide as each of us have faced in depth our fears and emotions around death. We are trained and practiced to be with intense and difficult emotions. Our full-time presence and companionship at vigil and at death, our advocacy in hospitals or at home, our coaching to customize end-of-life care plans for spiritual, physical, practical and life review needs, and most of all, our consistent relationships with our clients are not a service offered anywhere else. 

 Death Doulas can be contacted at any time during the EOL process. The sooner the Doula can enter into the process, the more time can be spent getting to know the individual and family, creating quality care plans, prioritizing end of life needs, and creating sacred space and meaning for the individual and family. 

Some do, some do not. Some operate as donation only, some have a specific pay structure like packages or hourly rates based on the specific services provided, some have a sliding scale. Regardless, this part of the client-Doula relationship should be clearly communicated and established from the beginning.