Sarah Humphrey
Stillbirth Doula & A Friend in Death
I offer deeply compassionate stillbirth doula and end-of-life companionship services, providing attentive and person-centred care during some of life’s most fragile and vulnerable moments.
I gently guide families through the complex experiences of loss and bereavement, honouring your unique journey with sacred grief rituals and meaningful ceremonies that bring comfort and connection.
“You were never meant to carry the weight of the world alone, but rather, in community with others.”
Thomas Hübl
How I can help you
Welcome, I’m Sarah Humphrey.
I am a Stillbirth Doula and End-of-Life Doula in training, based in South Devon, here to walk alongside & accompany you in moments of profound loss.
Grief can feel isolating: whether that be navigating your own death, anticipating the passing of someone close or facing the heartbreak of losing a baby - it’s very common to feel scared and unsure where to turn.
My role is to provide steady, compassionate support—offering a safe space where emotions are honoured, choices are respected, and the journey through loss is met with gentleness and care.
The care I provide is completely bespoke to you and your needs, and the needs of those around you.
We can discuss this in our first conversation: where you are right now and how I can help. Click here to get in touch.
Stillbirth Doula Support
Experiencing the loss of a baby is an unimaginable heartbreak. I am passionate about providing loving support and guidance for people, as I experienced a stillbirth pregnancy myself in 2023. I was lucky to have the support of a doula through this, and I am passionate about being able to provide this loving support to others going through something similar.
You can read more about my journey here.
As a Stillbirth Doula, I provide gentle, informed support to help families navigate this difficult time. This may include:
Holding Space – Offering a calm, supportive presence during labour and birth, ensuring parents feel seen and heard, providing practical and spiritual guidance to mum and birthing partners.
Memory-Making – Encouraging families to spend time with their baby, take photographs, read them stories, create keepsakes, and honour their child in meaningful ways.
Practical Guidance – Helping parents understand their options, including the use of cuddle cots, funeral arrangements, and milk donation possibilities.
Advocacy in Medical Settings – Assisting parents in navigating hospital protocols and ensuring wishes are respected. I can also provide support during the clinical review meeting, accompanying and advocating for you.
Funeral arrangements - Guiding you through the difficult days after the death. This could include caring for your baby’s body & support with death registration and funeral planning.
Bereavement Support – Providing emotional care in the days, weeks, and months following loss, ensuring families have the resources and support you need.
Grief Circles - There will be an invitation to attend a grief circle to come together with others who have an experience with pregnancy loss so we can hold space for each other. Grief is welcomed; to be witnessed and tended to in the presence of others, not to be done in isolation.
End-of-Life Doula Support
As a Friend in Death, also known as an End-of-Life (or Death) Doula, I offer emotional, practical, and spiritual support tailored to your needs. This may include:
Emotional Support – Holding space for you and the ones close to you with everything that comes with navigating a terminal illness through to death, and beyond for the ones left behind. Listening without judgment, and offering a calm and reassuring presence.
Advocacy – Ensuring your wishes are heard and respected, whether in medical settings or in regards to personal arrangements. Helping you to understand the options that you have with respect to how you are cared for during the dying phase, as well as helping to create a meaningful, personal funeral service / celebration of life.
Practical Assistance – Helping with advance planning, coordinating services, supporting life legacy work, or simply providing a calming presence.
Companionship – Sitting with you or your loved one, offering comfort, and reducing feelings of loneliness.
After-Death Support – Guiding families through the next steps, including care of the body, death registration, and funeral planning ensuring that wishes are respected.
Bereavement Support – Providing emotional care in the days, weeks, and months following loss, ensuring families have the resources and support they need.
With a background in Health and Social Care since 2018, I am passionate about supporting vulnerable communities. I have dedicated my career to working in spaces where trust, sensitivity, and understanding are paramount. In this work, I bring not only my professional expertise but my heartfelt commitment to ensuring that no one faces loss alone.
Whether you are preparing for a final goodbye, seeking guidance in mourning, or simply needing someone to hold space for you, I am here—without judgment, without expectation—just presence and support, tailored to your needs.
You are not alone.
About Me
My Journey
Grief has shaped my path in ways I never could have imagined. In 2013, I cared for my grandad Brian in the last three weeks of his life—a time that profoundly changed me. Crisis managing his care, coordinating with multiple services, and ensuring he was surrounded by love during his final moments with us gave me my first glimpse into the importance of compassionate, person-centered end-of-life support.
A decade later, my journey through loss deepened in ways that were completely unexpected. In 2023, I faced the devastating reality of pregnancy loss, saying goodbye to my twin baby boys Xander and Eli at 26 weeks. Navigating this heartbreak showed me the depth of grief that comes with losing a child, and how vital it is to have informed, compassionate care during such an unimaginable experience. A dear friend and fellow Doula supported me through this life changing event and I will never forget the care she provided me. It became clear that this was something I wanted to do for others.
These losses have shaped the work I do today. I am currently completing my End-of-Life Doula Diploma with Living Well Dying Well (LWDW), driven by a passion to support those who are dying and their families with presence, understanding, and patient-centered care. I am a member of the End Of Life Doula UK association which provides mentorship, peer support, resources & guidance for practicing Doulas.
Additionally, I am training with The Miscarriage Doula, deepening my knowledge in pregnancy loss support to ensure families receive the guidance, reassurance, and space they need to process their grief.
I believe that community is at the heart of healing. While I provide one-to-one support, I am also deeply committed to sharing insights, skills, and conversations with the wider community. Grief is something we will all encounter: the loss of a relationship, job or pet for example.. yet many feel unprepared to support those close to them through the events like death or pregnancy loss - fear of ‘saying the wrong thing’ or ‘making things worse’. Through talks, workshops, and open discussions, I hope to empower others—helping people feel confident and compassionate when they or someone in their life faces these transitions.
This journey has also led me to develop my own self-care tools and techniques—practices that allow me to hold space for others while ensuring that I, too, have the resources to remain fully present in this work. Beyond providing direct support, I am passionate about training others in these modalities—sharing what I have learned so that more people feel empowered to accompany those they care for through life’s most difficult transitions.
My calling is to be alongside others in times of profound grief, ensuring that no one has to walk this path alone.
Loss is deeply personal, but healing does not have to be faced alone
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Loss is deeply personal, but healing does not have to be faced alone ·
Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.
Vicki Harrison
Training ongoing with
Accredited with
CONTACT
You can also text me on 07397760015 and I will respond as quickly as I can
Frequently asked questions
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I charge a standard £30 per hour for support. Depending on location, I may also need to charge for travel costs, we can discuss how this would work.
How much support you need, and the ways in which I can support you can be discussed in our initial conversation (free of charge).
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Unfortunately, I am not trained or insured to provide any personal care services. I am not medically trained. I can provide person-centred stillbirth and end-of-life doula services and companionship, which can include practical, emotional and spiritual support.
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I have trained and insured to perform Reiki - level 2 & Swedish Body Massage and I am happy to offer these services alongside Stillbirth and End-of-Life Doula services.
We can discuss this all in our initial conversation and throughout our journey together.
I have a lot of interest in alternative therapies, and I can recommend some excellent practitioners if you need.
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Holding space is a psychological concept meaning creating a safe space for someone or something by being present for them, physically, emotionally and mentally without judgement.
The concept of "holding" was coined by Donald Winnicott in 1960 in a paper on the relationship of infants and parents and has since seen evolving use in the field of psychotherapy. The term "holding space" was popularized around 2015 by Heather Plett in a blog post about the concept.