What are Death Doulas?

Since there is no way for us to know when death exactly happens, funeral homes that offer cremation services in Beltsville, MD may also provide death doulas as part of their service to help us plan and prepare for our own death. We spend a lot of time in our own lives, perhaps, avoiding thinking much or deeply about our own deaths. It’s as though if we don’t think about death, then it won’t happen.

But when the ravages of age catch up with someone we love or a terminal illness is diagnosed in a family member or close friend, it’s much more difficult to avoid the reality that death happens.

However, we still may not be at a point where we consider our own mortality, and that, sooner or later, we also will close the final chapter in our lives by taking our last breath. We may seek to delay the inevitability of death with medications, procedures, and surgeries that may buy us a little more time. While these may provide quality of life for a while, at some point, our bodies will wear out and nothing will be able to stop us from the next natural step in the cycle of life, which is death.

We may take care of the things we’ll need at the end of life and when we die, such as advanced directives, powers of attorney, and wills or revocable living trusts, and believe that we are have done all we need to do to prepare for our own deaths.

But there will come a time when facing the reality of our own deaths can no longer be avoided.

However, there’s a difference between dying and dying well. Dying well includes making sure that the people you love and will be leaving behind are taken care of, that you’ve left a meaningful legacy for your family, and you want to make sure that your last wishes – or those of a loved one – are fulfilled in a way that shows respect and honor.

Death doulas are people who are professionally trained to help people who are dying (and their families) die well. A death doula has extensive and firsthand knowledge of the dying process and can offer the wisdom of that experience. A death doula can also help the dying loved one’s family understand and accept death as natural, and can help prepare them for when death finally comes.

Death doulas also encourage the dying person and their family to have healthy conversations about death and they can help the entire family plan for death.

Death doulas have many practical functions are very beneficial. They provide education about what happens as the body dies, and will let the family know when death is imminent. They advocate for the dying person (if they do not have a designated medical power of attorney) when the dying person is unable to express their own wishes.

Death doulas are effective coordinators between medical professionals, family members, and caregivers, which can relieve a lot of stress on the family as death approaches. They also provide companionship for the dying person and offer family members an opportunity to take brief (a few hours) breaks from caregiving to attend to their own needs.

Although death doulas aren’t certified, they are being added to the staffs of palliative care and hospice care agencies across the country. Death doulas go through a rigorous training program that qualifies them to very ably assist dying people and their families through the end-oflife process.

If you want more information about cremation services offered in Beltsville, MD, you can talk with our expert staff at Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home, P.A. You can drop by our funeral home at 4400 Powder Mill Rd., Beltsville, MD, 20705, or you can contact us today at (301) 937-1707.