The modern Americanized handling of the end of life—plastic body bags minutes after the last breath, injection with chemical preservatives (a.k.a., embalming), impenetrable metallic coffins, expensive burials arranged by strangers on acres of groomed lawn, and funerals that cost between $5,000 and $40,000—is a relatively new thing. Few people realize it’s not the only option.
There is a small but growing movement across the country to re-educate people about alternatives to the big, expensive funeral industry: home funerals and death midwifery. Death midwives almost all of them women, are spearheading the movement. Not unlike the way a birthing midwife works with a pregnant woman, a death midwife (sometimes called an end of life guide, or death doula) supports a person through the process of dying, helping them prepare mentally, emotionally and logistically for the upcoming event. They counsel the dying through their fears, concerns and questions, and help plan the ceremony for after their death. [...]
Death midwives like Ward often offer home funerals as part of their services, meaning instead of turning a loved one over to strangers, families have the option to keep the body at home for one to three days, and host the funeral ceremony on their own terms from home. The home funeral coordinator (often, but not always, the death midwife herself) talks the family through the process, from washing and dressing the body, to laying out dry ice to preserve the body in a designated space if it's staying for more than a day, to carrying out the loved one's burial wishes.
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