01/09/2026
Thank you for this Katie Costello - Soul Midwife and Funeral Celebrant
This is a huge conversation, and one many of us struggle with. There’s this deep-rooted belief that because the work is caring, emotional, spiritual, and around death, it somehow should be free.
So let me say this clearly - it is absolutely okay for soul midwives (and death doulas) to charge for their work.
Most of us have:
• Paid thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) for professional training and qualifications
• Invested years in additional learning, diplomas, skills, and lived experience
• Done deep personal, emotional, and spiritual work to be able to sit with others in their hardest moments
• Spent years building experience across different professional roles
That alone justifies charging.
Some Soul midwives choose to offer voluntary support and that work is deeply valued. Some of us charge and that is completely valid. Both can exist.
If you do charge, there are lots of ways to do it:
• A set number of free or low-cost hours, then paid support beyond that
• Hourly or per-service fees
• Pay-it-forward or donation-based models
• Tiered services depending on depth, time, and complexity and skill.
And something important to understand from the inside…
What might look like 2 hours of support often involves:
• Emotional, mental, and spiritual preparation beforehand
• Holding intense space during
• Decompression, reflection, and processing afterwards
In reality, that 2 hours can easily be 6–8 hours of work so realistically, a full days work.
We are much like counselling, therapy, Reiki, yoga, acupuncture, reflexology that folks pay for, alongside health/medical care. We are extra. Additional. I’d say necessary even.
I would love to see a future where Soul midwives are routinely employed in hospitals, hospices, care homes, and agencies. Some places are moving that way, which is hopeful. But for now, most of us are self-employed.
This is not about profiting from vulnerability or grief as some perceive it.
This is about recognising:
✨ skill and training
✨ deep care and compassion
✨ priceless experience
✨ emotional labour
✨ professional value
✨ IMPACT
Soul midwives/death doulas are professionals. Our work is valuable. Charging for it is not wrong.