WELCOME TO THE INTERNATIONAL END OF LIFE DOULA ASSOCIATION
Dying isn’t a medical event. It is a human one. We have accompanied each other through the bookends of life – birth and death – since the beginning of time. In many cultures specific individuals held the role of guide through these significant life events. They eased physical and spiritual pain, shepherded life across the threshold, celebrated and blessed those involved, and reaffirmed the communal understanding of these life cycle experiences.
In our modern western way of life, with the disbursement of families, multiple generations no longer living together, the over dependence on technology, and the bias embedded in our health care system people have lost touch with the naturalness of dying and how best to support people going through it. As a result, too many people die in fear and unnecessary suffering. Too many Black people and other people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, the homeless, and the impoverished are disenfranchised and underserved.
It’s time to care for the dying and those close to them with compassionate engagement and open-hearted presence. It’s time to remember and incorporate the traditions of our ancestors, the inner healing and beauty that can be experienced between people surrounding the dying person. It’s time for us to embrace the end-of-life doula approach to care.
Whether you received a life-limiting diagnosis, you care for someone near the end of life, you feel a calling to serve the dying, or you just want to know more about best practices in end-of-life care, INELDA welcomes you.
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“Dying is a journey through the unknown. Having a doula to accompany and guide us made such a difference. They didn’t take away the suffering, but they softened it, opened us to new possibilities of engagement, and helped us feel safe with the unexpected. I cannot imagine how I would have managed without a doula.”