Death Doulas Are on the Rise. Here Is Why It Matters

Death doulas are having a moment. Nicole Kidman is training as one. Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao qualified while adapting a novel about grief. The Times ran a feature this week on the profession's rapid growth, and the numbers are striking: the International End of Life Doula Association in the US trained nearly 1,300 people last year, up from just 25 in 2015. In the UK, End of Life Doula UK membership grew by 114 last year alone.

Something is shifting. And for those of us working in the bereavement and probate space, it is worth paying attention to what it means.

What Death Doulas Actually Do

A death doula is a non-medical companion who supports a dying person and their family through the end-of-life process. They help with emotional preparation, practical planning, documenting last wishes, and being present during the final days and hours.

They are not nurses. They are not counsellors. They fill a gap that used to be occupied by extended family and community, back when death happened at home and everyone had seen it before.

As Dr Emma Clare, CEO of End of Life Doula UK, puts it: death used to be a domestic affair. It moved into hospitals and care homes, and in doing so it became invisible. Most families today arrive at a deathbed with no experience, no framework, and no idea what to expect.

Death doulas bring that framework back.

Why This Is Growing Now

The pandemic is the obvious catalyst. COVID forced millions of people to confront mortality in a way that modern life had allowed them to avoid. People watched relatives die over video calls. They saw overwhelmed hospitals and understood, viscerally, that the system was not built for compassionate dying.

But something deeper is happening too. There is a generational shift in how younger people relate to death. The Times reports that healthy people in their 30s and 40s are now seeking doulas to help them plan ahead, not because they are ill, but because they want their wishes documented in case something unexpected happens.

This is not morbid. It is practical. And it mirrors exactly what we see at GetPassage: people increasingly want to take control of what happens after they die, rather than leaving their families to guess.

The Gap Death Doulas Are Filling

Here is what strikes me most about this trend. Death doulas exist because there is a profound gap between what dying people need and what the system provides.

The NHS does extraordinary work in palliative care, and hospices provide remarkable end-of-life support. But the emotional, domestic, and administrative reality of dying does not fit neatly into clinical pathways. Who helps you write the letter to your grandchildren? Who sits with your partner at 3am when the fear becomes unbearable? Who makes sure your funeral wishes are actually written down somewhere your family can find them?

These are not medical questions. But they are among the most important questions a dying person faces.

Death doulas charge around £25 per hour in the UK, and training costs upwards of £1,500 across 18 months. The fact that people are willing to pay for this, and that the NHS is starting to fund it (West Yorkshire committed £50,000, South West London £36,000), tells you something about the size of the gap.

What This Means for Families

If you are supporting someone who is dying, or thinking about your own end-of-life planning, the rise of death doulas is genuinely good news. It means more people are trained to help. It means the conversation is becoming less taboo. And it means there are practical options available that did not exist five years ago.

A few things worth knowing:

• End of Life Doula UK maintains a directory of qualified practitioners across the country
• Living Well Dying Well offers both training and a find-a-doula service
• Many doulas work alongside hospice teams and NHS palliative care, not as a replacement but as a complement
• Some doulas specialise in specific areas: supporting children, helping with funeral planning, or working with particular cultural or faith communities

The Bigger Picture

Filmmaker Chloe Zhao said something that stuck with me: "In the modern world, when death is no longer seen as a natural part of life, because now it is about staying alive as long as we can, there is almost shame around death."

She is right. And that shame has consequences. It means families do not talk about wills. It means people die without their wishes documented. It means executors inherit chaos alongside grief.

The death doula movement is part of a broader cultural correction. People are starting to treat death not as a failure to be hidden, but as something that deserves the same care and planning we give to birth, to marriage, to buying a house.

At GetPassage, we see this every day. The families who cope best after a death are almost always the ones who had some preparation: a will that was up to date, wishes that were written down, important documents that were findable. The practical and the emotional are not separate. Getting the practical right is one of the most compassionate things you can do for the people you will leave behind.

A Cultural Shift Worth Supporting

Whether or not you would personally hire a death doula, the trend they represent matters. We are, slowly, becoming a society that is willing to look at death honestly. That willingness makes everything that follows a death, from grief to probate to rebuilding, just a little bit easier.

If you are thinking about your own end-of-life planning, you do not need a doula to start. Write down your wishes. Tell someone where your important documents are. Have the conversation you have been avoiding. These are small acts, but they are among the most meaningful things you can do for the people you love.