Midwifing Death course

I love learning, professional development and spending time with other people who are passionate about working in the end of life space. In 2025 I had the opportunity to complete the Midwifing Death course, facilitated by Wendy Reilly and based on the work of Dr Michael Barbato.

This course invited me to take a deep dive into my own beliefs and feelings around death and loss and what it means to offer a supportive presence to someone who is dying. We explored how to walk alongside someone who is dying with love, respect, presence, to support their rights, choices and dignity, without bringing our own personal agenda to the space.

There were many readings, TED talks and resources shared within the course. I’ll start sharing some of them with you soon. One of my favourites was the book called ‘Being Mortal’ by Atul Gawande which explores how modern medicine often prioritises prolonging life over quality of life and discusses the importance of dignity, choice and meaningful connection at the end of life.

Our course ended with us doing a presentation about what we had learned to the rest of the group and Dr Michael Barbato who is one of the most experienced and respected physicians in end of life care in Australia attended this final session, listed to our presentations and offered us feedback and reflections. It was such a special opportunity to connect with Dr Barbato in this way and I’m so thankful for this experience.

Completing the Midwifing Death course was a beautiful opportunity for me to take time to reflect on my personal experience with supporting others in their end of life experience, and learn more about how my compassionate presence is so much more important than having the answers. Some questions can’t be answered by anyone other than the person taking the journey, but I can be there to walk them home with love and support. Michelle xx