Jun 12, 2026 - Wellness Brief

The rise of death doulas

Carly Mallenbaum

Illustration of a collage of hands holding and a bouquet of flowers behind a curtain. — Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios

Doulas don't just help welcome new life. There's a growing field of end-of-life doulas.

State of play: As discussion of death has gotten less taboo, public figures, including Nicole Kidman and "Hamnet" director Chloé Zhao, have spoken openly about training to become death doulas.

By the numbers: Membership in the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance grew from about 260 in 2019 to 2,040 as of June 2, NEDA tells Axios.

Zoom in: Colorado is roughly the 20th most populous state, but NEDA says it's eighth in the nation for NEDA-registered death doulas.

Go deeper: Here's how you can talk about death — in person or virtually — over donuts.

Wellness Brief

The rise of death doulas

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