Mourning Doula.com is an extension of renowned Momdoulary Method training and certification program for doulas and parent support professionals. Mourning Doula.com is the brainchild of Laura Saba, hospice volunteer, author, birth doula, death doula, conflict resolution coach, professional organizer, event planner, parent educator, inventor and artist. In supporting a number of individuals as they made important end-of-life choices, as well as attending a number of deaths through hospice, and providing support in a great number of memorial and funeral arrangements, Laura saw that there was a need for a 3rd party individual without emotional attachment to the deceased OR those who had experienced loss. Laura quickly realized this role was similar to the need she had met for childbirth where she created the Momdoulary Method Birth, Antepartum, and Postpartum Doula Training & Certification. Having seen first-hand how valuable this support was as she helped over 1000 families in the birth arena, she quickly began to transfer her skills to the work she was doing with the dying and families of newly deceased. Indeed, her theory proved true. Laura saw the movement grow quickly, and the roles expand, which led to this becoming a 6-in-1 training program. A Momdoulary Death or Mourning Professional is there to advocate for individuals as they navigate the many complex choices after they’ve lost a loved one, so they can make the best and most fully informed decisions, while they are in the vulnerable state of grief.
End-of-Life doulas take on a different role, providing physical, emotional, informational, and administrative support to both the healthy and dying, as they navigate the many choices they have to explore regarding end-of-life decisions for health care, support, and disposition. Laura feels that just as with a birth doula, it is important to help inform clients of all their options, in a completely non-biased way, focusing rather on solely meeting the needs of the client, and subsequently, the End-of-life doula does just that.
As individuals have found a birth doula to be of incredible use when giving birth, so too has Laura found people find someone there to provide physical, information, and emotional support at the time of death to be helpful. Thus we have the role of the Death Doula. The Death Doula is there through the hours at the end of life, meeting the unique needs of the individual they are caring for. While Death Doulas commonly assist those dying at home, they also have been known to work with individuals in the hospital and in hospice.
With a growing trend toward Home Funeral in the US, the Death Doula made her appearance. The Home Funeral Doula serves during a home funeral The Home Funeral Doula will provide support leading up to and through the final disposition. She can provide educational, emotional and informational support, as well as guide individuals through the process of creating rituals and ceremonies that personally reflect the life of the individual who has passed.
Families who retain Momdoulary Death & Mourning Doula Professional report spending less and feeling more in control and supported as they navigate the funeral industry. Individuals who work with Momdoulary Method Certified Death & Mourning Professionals report feeling more alive and having a greater sense of control over how they use their time now, thanks in part to facing their concerns about their final days and thereafter, as well as feeling more aware of how precious and valuable their present moments are.
In turn, Laura has come to see this as a sense of completion: Today she is training individuals to provide advocacy and informational, physical, and emotional support through the most important transitions we experience, serving families from cradle to the grave.
