Pediatric End-of-Life Doula:
Support for Families Facing the Unthinkable
If you are here because your baby or child has received a terminal diagnosis, is dying, has died, or may die, we are so deeply sorry.
We know no website can hold the fullness of what you are carrying.
But we hope this page helps you understand that you do not have to walk through this alone. Whether your family is navigating pregnancy loss, perinatal loss, hospice care, pediatric end-of-life care, or sudden death, we are here to offer presence, tenderness, memory-making, bereavement photography, ritual support, and compassionate guidance.
Your child’s life matters, and your family’s love matters.
And when you are ready, we are here to sit beside you.
You are not alone.
When your child receives a terminal diagnosis or is approaching the end of life, the world can feel like it has shifted beneath your feet.
There may be appointments, decisions, questions, and emotions where you are simply trying to keep a grasp on the reality of what is happening. There may be decisions to make, conversations to have, memories to create, and emotions that feel too big to carry alone.
At Imani’s Light, our Pediatric End-of-Life Doula support offers a compassionate, steady presence for families navigating the dying process, death, and the tender days that follow. We provide non-medical, emotional, practical, vigil, legacy, and ritual-centered support for families after a terminal diagnosis or hospice referral.
We do not replace your child’s medical team, hospice team, palliative care providers, social workers, chaplains, nurses, or therapists. Instead, we work alongside them as an additional layer of support, helping your family feel more held, prepared, and accompanied as you navigate your child’s end-of-life journey.
Our role is to walk alongside you to help you understand your options, feel less alone, and create moments of connection, dignity, and meaning during an incredibly difficult time.
What Is a Pediatric End-of-Life Doula?
A Pediatric End-of-Life Doula provides compassionate, non-medical support to families whose child has received a terminal diagnosis, has been referred to hospice, or is actively approaching the end of their life.
While your child’s medical and hospice providers focus on clinical care, symptom management, care planning, and medical guidance, our role is to offer a calm and compassionate presence during a time that can feel overwhelming and confusing. We can help families prepare for what may come, advocate for their wishes, understand available options, and create space for love, memory-making, ritual, and family connection.
Pediatric end-of-life doula care may begin after a terminal diagnosis, during hospital-based care, hospice-supported care, at home, or wherever your family is receiving care.
We are there to help families feel less alone in the moments between medical updates, during long nights, while waiting, while making memories, while preparing for death, and in the tender time after a child dies.
What Is a Pediatric End-of-Life Doula?
Our Pediatric End-of-Life Doula services are for families whose child, infant, teen, or young adult has received a terminal diagnosis, is being referred to hospice, is already receiving hospice care, or is nearing the end of life.
Many families seek support when:
- Their child is in the NICU, PICU, oncology, cardiology, or another medical setting where end-of-life decisions may be discussed.
- Their child has recently received a terminal diagnosis.
- Their child has been referred to hospice or palliative hospice-based care.
- They are preparing for their child’s death at home, in the hospital, or another care setting.
- They are preparing for withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.
- They want additional emotional, practical, and family-centered support.
- They need someone to sit vigil with them as their child is dying.
- They want additional help creating memories, rituals, or legacy items.
- They are unsure how to talk with siblings or extended family.
- They are considering rituals, blessings, cultural practices, or other meaningful ways to honor their child.
- They need guidance around after-death care, funeral planning, memorials, or disposition options.
- They want support in the immediate days and weeks after their child’s death.
Pediatric End-of-Life Doula Services are provided at no charge for families.
Pediatric End-of-Life Doula Support Can Include:
As a bereavement Doula, I will walk beside you on this journey without judgment. Depending on the time we meet on your journey, I will be there every step of the way and will continue to provide support for months after your loss. This support may include physical, emotional, practical, and informational support throughout your journey.
Emotional and Companioning Support
- Holding space for your emotions, fears, hopes, and questions without judgment.
- Gentle preparation for what may happen before, during, and after death.
- Help with slowing down overwhelming decisions into manageable steps.
- Support in identifying what matters most to your family.
- Helping you identify what feels meaningful for your family.
- Providing care and presence during difficult waiting periods.
- Grounding support during hospital meetings, care transitions, or difficult conversations.
- Simply being with you when there are no words.
End-of-Life Planning and Guidance
- Thinking through hopes and priorities for your child’s care.
- Preparing questions for medical teams.
- Understanding comfort care, hospice, palliative care, and end-of-life planning conversations.
- Creating a family-centered end-of-life plan.
- Planning for who should be present and what the environment should feel like.
- Considering music, touch, prayer, silence, scent, lighting, clothing, blankets, or meaningful objects.
- Supporting communication with extended family, siblings, and community members
Vigil Support
- Sitting with your child and family during the active dying process.
- Creating a peaceful environment based on your family’s wishes.
- Supporting parents who need to step away briefly to rest, eat, shower, or breathe.
- Helping guide family members through how to be present.
- Offering grounding and emotional support during long or uncertain hours.
- Protecting the tenderness of the space as much as possible.
- Supporting rituals, songs, prayers, readings, or moments of remembrance.
Memory-Making and Legacy Support
- Handprints, footprints, fingerprints, or molds.
- Memory boxes.
- Letters to or from your child.
- Sibling keepsakes.
- Voice or recordings
- Photography planning or coordination
- Favorite songs, playlists, stories, or readings.
- Photo planning or coordination.
- Comfort items, blankets, clothing, or meaningful objects.
- Legacy projects that reflect your child’s personality, relationships, and life.
- Rituals that honor your child before, during, or after death.
Family and Sibling Support
- Helping parents talk with siblings using clear and compassionate language.
- Prepare children for hospital visits, changes in appearance, or death.
- Create sibling memory activities.
- Support children’s questions, worries, and grief responses.
- Help extended family understand how to be supportive.
- Navigate family dynamics during a highly emotional time.
- Supporting parents as they decide who they want present and when.
After-Death Support
- What happens after death in the hospital, hospice, or home setting.
- Creating space for family and time with your child after death.
- Guiding parents through washing, dressing, wrapping, or and being with your child
- Helping families think through planning funeral memorial, home funeral, or celebration of life options.
- Funeral home coordination.
- Offering guidance around burial, cremation, aquamation, or other disposition options where available.
- Helping write meaningful obituary language, readings, ceremony elements, or tribute materials.
When to Reach Out
You can reach out as soon as you receive a serious diagnosis, when conversations about end-of-life care begin, when your child enters hospice or palliative care, or after your child has died.
You can also reach out if you are unsure whether your family qualifies for this support. If we are not the right fit, we will do our best to connect you with another resource.
There is no “too early” or “too late” to ask for support.
Emergent Pediatric End-of-Life Doula Services
If a family has received an emergent terminal diagnosis, or hospice referral, or a child is nearing the end of their life, we can provide emergent Doula care and/or bereavement photography at their care location in Seattle, King, or Pierce County (based on availability).
Pediatric End-of-Life Doula Support in Seattle, King and Pierce County.
End-of-Life Doula Support Services are provided at no charge.
Love offerings/Donations are accepted and appreciated but not expected. They are used to ensure support for future families.