The Business of Being a Death Midwife

I don’t see much transparency about the cost and compensation for deathworkers in private practice. After my post (5 Things I’ve Learned …), there was some controversy about my aversion to sliding scale/low-cost/free work and it’s impact on the deathwork collective.

To show you exactly what I mean, here is a breakdown of the cost of my private practice and it’s potential to compensate me for my spiritual care work.

I’d like to add to these slides one HUGE disclaimer: my capacity is set at 20 hours of direct care because for every one hour I am with a client, I require 1 hour of self-care. This is HARD work. To do this work with the intensity and integrity it asks of me, I must honor and care for my self in a deep and true sense. 20 hours of direct care is 40 hours of work, for me.

The self-care that I list here are a portion of the total self-care that I do but the ones I deem most necessary for my deathwork. The same is true of my expenses, I did not add in the big expenses necessary for building the business ( LLC filing fees, accountant fees, website design, etc.) or the myriad of small fees (wear and tear on my vehicle, time spent commuting, free consultations, time spent building community collaboration, etc).

I want to spend my energy strengthening my community, growing my practice and serving my calling as a death worker. But the reality of living in modern America, for me, is that there are costs to offering my death work as a private practitioner. If you’re considering a similar path, please know that I’m happy to answer questions transparently about the business side of death midwifery. It’s a hallmark of my Deathwork Mentorship, along with deathwork as spiritual care and deathwork as community care. Find out more about my 1:1 virtual mentorship on the website!