I am a Life Cycle Doula, which means that I “doula” lovely people both at the beginning of life – at birth – as well as at the end of life – at death. I began my informal training as a doula at a time when birth doulas were the only kind. It was the early 2000s, and I had the honor of working alongside Dr. John Kennell, one of the early promoters of mother-infant bonding, as well as the founder of Doulas of North America, now DONA International. Through my work in Dr. Kennell’s bonding research, I learned about the role of the doula and the positive influences of the presence of a doula in the labor and delivery room. During my time working with this research lab, I had the absolute honor of sitting in on roughly fifty deliveries. I soaked it all in…

When I moved to Ann Arbor, MI to attend graduate school in 2005, I carried out my Birth Doula Training at the Center for the Childbearing Year. When called upon, I have volunteered to provide birth doula support for about ten families – mostly friends and colleagues in graduate school, as well as families that were unable to hire a doula, but were compelled to have that kind of support.

I then continued my career as a Geoscience Educator, while volunteering as a doula on the side. I worked in a cave (yes, underground!). I worked at a few universities. I lived abroad. I got married. I had a baby. I moved more times than I can count. And when my son was about 2 years old, I started attending Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. My family has gotten more and more involved at the Temple, whom I now feel is MY community.

In 2025, I attended a life-changing workshop about the work of the Chevra Kadisha (a Jewish burial society). I immediately volunteered to join this group of people who care for a dead body, preparing the body for burial. This led me to learn more about Jewish rituals surrounding death. After attending the Kavod v’Nichum conference in November 2025, I decided to pursue doula training at the end-of-life through an organization called INELDA – the International End-of-Life Doula Association.

I became an INELDA-trained doula in April 2026 after an intensive 5-day in-person training. I have been volunteering as a hospice volunteer since early 2026, and would like to bring topics of dying and death more into regular conversations. This reduces fear and anxiety around the often taboo topic. But death is a natural part of life, and there’s no avoiding it. We will all experience it, many times for loved ones and friends and acquaintances, and eventually for ourselves. I seek to normalize conversations about death.

So, with that, I now consider myself a Life Cycle Doula – this means that I support people both at birth and at death. Believe it or not, but from my experience, they’re not all that different…

What is a Doula?

A doula is a non-medical support person, who will be present with those giving birth and laboring in the dying process. I am there not only for the person at the center of this experience, but for their entire circle of care. The role of the doula is to fill the gaps and needs left unmet by doctors, nurses, palliative care workers, midwives, and hospice workers… and loved ones who also need support. This support includes preparation for labor and delivery for an expecting parent, as well as preparation for end-of-life, throughout the dying process, as well as post-death. Doulas do it all!