End of Life Doula Services
An End of Life Doula is a companion who supports a person, and their family, as they navigate life leading up to their death and beyond. Their primary role is to offer non-medical, holistic care, supporting the person’s choices in a kind and non-judgemental way.
The support an EOL Doula provides is tailored to the needs of the person, as and when they arise, but roughly fall into these categories:
- Practical support helping you to maintain a sense of control, comfort, and confidence.
- Emotional support helping you to feel heard and respected. One of the doula’s primary goals is to care for your emotional health and enhance your ability to have a positive end of life experience with all those who support you.
- Informational support helping you to make informed choices about what’s available, and what you will need during your journey, and what your family will need after you die.
- Cultural & Spiritual support ensuring your wishes are met according to your cultural and spiritual needs, especially after your death.
- Social support ensuring that the person’s circle of friends and family are informed, as per the person’s wishes, and abilities as health declines.
End of Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa (ELDAA)
ELDAA (End of Life Doula Alliance of Aotearoa New Zealand) provides a membership association which recognises end-of-life Doulas as a professional entity, and is a central point of contact for individuals seeking end of life doula support in NZ. ELDAA sets the standards for NZ end of life doula practice and supports and advocates for them.
Life and death planning and conversations
Doulas can help you to design your best last chapter. By doing this, your loved ones will know what you want, and you can get on with living your best life. Doulas can assist with:
– Getting the paperwork done’ – Wills, Enduring Power of Attorneys for health and finance, Legacy documents, Digital legacy.
– Advance care plans and Directives for what you want – or don’t want – in case of a severe medical event or accident where you cannot communicate.
– Plans for what will be needed for your family (and pets), when you die.
– Plans for what happens to your body when you die – there are many options available, including bringing you home for a ‘tangi’ or ‘wake’ period prior to a funeral, hiring caskets or using shrouds, cremation, natural burials.
End of Life Doula FAQs
What can end of life doulas help with?
- Assist the person and the family to understand the prognosis, understand the death and dying process, and know what to expect.
- Help to have conversations so that death is approached without fear or loneliness.
- Advocacy – supporting others to speak for themselves.
- Work alongside the multi-disciplinary health team and palliative care providers.
- Help to co-ordinate healthcare providers – this can be overwhelming.
- Create a plan to enable the person to live well until they die.
- Identify resources needed and make referrals.
- Create a communication plan with all interested parties.
- Create a life plan – bucket lists, life stories, documenting the legacy.
- Provide comfort measures, practical and logistical support, including respite care.
- Ensure cultural needs are met, and identify funeral preferences in line with the person’s religion/beliefs.
- Attend the vigil during the final stages of life, guiding and supporting the family. ‘Holding space’ for the dying person.
- Support the carers to have confidence following the instructions for administering medications.
- Arrange respite care to allow the carers to have some rest.
What kinds of after death care & guidance do doulas offer?
If you have had a sudden, or expected death in your world, Doulas can help with….
- Care of the body – Options for how to bring your person home, or advocating for your wishes while under the care of a funeral director.
- Funeral Guide – assisting the family with organising a funeral or memorial ceremony, either themselves, or with a funeral director.
- Attending to cultural practices.
- Looking at options for burial, cremation, natural burials etc.
- Connecting to grief and bereavement support.
What does an End of Life Doula charge?
The cost for Doula services is dependent on many factors and individually set by each Doula. Compassionate and competent support through the end of life experience is priceless. Most Doulas know cost is a factor during most people’s decision making processes.
How do I choose an end-of-life doula?
Ask about their training, experience, services, fees and scope of practice. Just as importantly, talk with them about their approach and whether they feel like the right fit for you and your whānau. It can also be helpful to ask how they work alongside hospice and other healthcare professionals.
When should we consider contacting an end-of-life doula?
You don’t have to wait until someone is actively dying. Some people engage a doula months before death to help with planning, conversations and preparation, while others seek support during the final weeks or days.
