I have finally surfaced from the jet-lag from my trip to Europe, where I was given the opportunity to present twice – once about the funeral disruption industry in Australia, once about End Of Life Doulas in Australia. Both presentations were in the same afternoon, so my tiredness at the end of the trip is understandable.
What I found fascinating is that the funeral disruption talk was slated for the panel “Birth and Death” – however I was the only person in the room who was talking about death. Weirdly, I was in a room full of midwives, nurses and researchers who were firmly fixated on the medicalisation of birth and the ramifications of this for practice. Which is good, and certainly food for good thought and future research pathways, however both mothers and infants/foetueses do die – so I was fascinated by the way I was actually sidelined by the room. Many people took enthusiastic photos of my presentation, but zero questions afterwards.
I do invite all of you to have conversations about death and dying. Please. Don’t be afraid of being the one person in the room who will begin the talks.
If you would like some pointers about how to begin a End Of Life conversation please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Let’s talk.
Dr Annetta Mallon 