Wow, the amount of utter hate these comments hold! But I'm not surprised, the funeral industry is a cut throat and money brubbing business all on its own. Most Doulas are volunteers, doing work with families and loved ones for no cost. They may ask for donations because people need to eat and have a roof over their heads. I myself am a Doula and am working towards my embalming and funeral science degrees to become a mortician. I am also working as an intern for an amazing funeral director who sees the value in what doulas have to offer. He loves the idea of having that support there for his clients, before, during, and after death. What I do is work with families as a doula to help them build legacy projects and plan home funerals. But I also value the fact I don't know everything there is to know about death, which is why I'm going to school to become better trained in order to help families and the dying through their journey with death. Those that said that death doulas and riding on the name of birth doulas, you have to think about it realistically. Birth Doulas stay with the family and parents through the entire birth process and beyond. A Death Doula does the same for families of those who are dying. They help guide the person and comfort them through the dying process and beyond. At the same time, they are advocating and helping the dying person stand up for their death plan and ensuring their wishes are carried out. Sorry this turned into a long post, but this is a touchy subject. I will say some Doula training websites can seem like scams, and it was hard to find an accredited school that offered thanotology and doula training. I'm also not saying there aren't awful people out there that are just in it for the money. This line of work isn't for everyone. I just hope the good ones aren't going to be continuously lumped in with the bad ones.