Sometimes Shireen Rose Shakouri simply holds people's hands.

At other times she distracts them from what's about to happen with some ordinary conversation — about their work, their kids, their pets.

Her job, she says, is "about whatever the person needs in that moment".

"It's a complicated thing. Not everyone is feeling all sorrow or all relief," she says.

Shireen is a trained abortion doula with the Doula Project, where she supports people through their abortions.

It can involve driving them to and from a clinic, sitting with them during the procedure and helping them develop an aftercare plan, which considers things like food and rest.

"A lot of times, since most of the people who end up having abortions already have children, we just talk about their kids," Shireen says.

For those who want it, she will help "narrate the process".

"Some people want to know, 'OK, this is going to be a pinch, there's going to be some pressure now and some cramping'," Shireen says.

"And other people don't want to know anything."

Bonnie McIntosh is also a trained abortion doula, and member of the Colorado Doula Project.

She says many of the questions she's asked by people during their abortions are steeped in shame.

"Am I ever going to be able to get pregnant again if I want? Is my God going to forgive me? Am I a bad person?"

'No-one should go through it alone'

Shireen and Bonnie live in New York and Colorado respectively.

They're among hundreds of other abortion doulas in the US working to ensure people having an abortion receive the same level of support as those giving birth or experiencing miscarriage.

Shireen's clients come from all walks of life. Often they simply want reassurance that everything's going to be OK. ( Supplied )

Shireen's clients are people from all walks of life.

Some are "upper-middle class women in fancy town homes". Others are disadvantaged. Many are in situations of domestic violence.

But they share a common need: they want reassurance that everything will be OK.

"Abortion affects so many different types of people," Bonnie says.

"We all know and love someone who has had [an abortion]. We all know someone who did not have support through one, and that is unacceptable. I want to be part of changing that.

"No-one should go through it alone if they don't want to."

And though the work of an abortion doula can be very challenging — and politically charged — Bonnie says "it's just so worth it".

"I see the people that we support and it means everything to them," she says.

"It makes me feel like I am showing up for people in a way that is meaningful."

During their abortion, some people want to be distracted; others want a play-by-play of their procedure. ( Getty: PeopleImages )

'It was a very big decision for me to make'

Beth Vial says she "couldn't imagine" going through her abortion alone — and thankfully she didn't have to.

She learnt of her pregnancy quite far into it, and initially had trouble deciding what to do.

"It was a very big decision for me to make," she says.

Where to find help Laws and levels of access for abortion vary in each state and territory. Speak to your GP or local sexual health clinic about the options available where you live. Family Planning Alliance Australia has links to state and territory sexual health services

Family Planning Alliance Australia has links to state and territory sexual health services Marie Stopes Australia operates clinics in Qld, NSW, ACT, Victoria, NT and WA and can provide tele-abortion in some circumstances for other states

Marie Stopes Australia operates clinics in Qld, NSW, ACT, Victoria, NT and WA and can provide tele-abortion in some circumstances for other states Pregnancy, Birth and Baby has a helpline to speak to a nurse about your pregnancy and options on 1800 882 436

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby has a helpline to speak to a nurse about your pregnancy and options on 1800 882 436 Children By Choice has an online tool with questions to ask yourself about your pregnancy

Children By Choice has an online tool with questions to ask yourself about your pregnancy Lifeline can provide support for your mental health in times of stress, 13 11 14

Lifeline can provide support for your mental health in times of stress, 13 11 14 Kids Helpline can provide support for your mental health in times of stress, 1800 551 800

After deciding an abortion was what she wanted, Beth was resolute, but not at ease.

People in her life pressured her to keep the pregnancy.

She wondered what a late-term surgical abortion would be like, if it was going to hurt.

Beth is from Oregon, in the US, but the clinics there "weren't comfortable helping" her.

"I had to travel to different state," she says, "and I didn't have a lot of time".

The cost of it all added to her stress.

"My abortion cost me — and this says a lot about the American health care system — with the cost of travel and lodging and all the blood tests, around $US13,000," she says.

Beth didn't have a "safe person to talk with" about what she was going through.

"It was very daunting," she says.

She connected with an abortion doula at the health clinic she attended, and says her experience would have been "a lot more isolating" without her.

"It was nice to have someone with me to bounce questions off of safely and comfortably, or that I could express, 'Hey, I'm uncomfortable with this and what can I do about it', or 'what's it going to be like afterwards' — anything that came to mind," she says.

Because she had a late-term abortion, Beth needed to stay in hospital longer than in the case of a typical surgical abortion.

Her doula was with her from start to finish.

"That in itself was comforting to me, because a lot of medical staff are in and out all the time, and you're having to re-explain yourself all the time, explaining to people what you're going through and what's going on," she says.

Her flight home to Oregon "was not so heavy" as the flight before it.

"Ultimately I was happy. I wouldn't say ecstatic, but relieved and empowered, and ready to pick up the pieces and move forward with my life," she says.

'It would have been nice to have someone'

Like Beth, Kate Woodroofe says the unknown was an unsettling companion during her abortion.

She didn't have any doubts about having an abortion, and because the procedure "sounded fairly basic", she hadn't asked many questions.

She bought a plastic sheet for her bed and pads to help with the bleeding.

At her home in Victoria, she took the tablets prescribed to end her pregnancy.

"Don't worry. You go home. Everything's fine," she told her brother and her best friend, who had rallied around her in support.

But then came night-time, and the hours to fill.

Kate lay, unable to sleep. Nerves set in.

"I didn't realise the impact of being on my own at that point and not having someone who had been through it before," she says.

The experience, she says, was "more daunting and intimidating and full on than I emotionally expected it to be".

"I didn't really know what was coming. That's when I thought, 'Oh shit, this could be really scary'."

Abortion doulas in Australia

Trained abortion doulas don't currently exist in Australia, but a new program is set to change that.

Daile Kelleher is the manager of Children by Choice, an unplanned pregnancy counselling service in Queensland about to pilot the country's first abortion doula training program.

Kicking off later this year, it will target rural and remote areas of Queensland, but Daile hopes to see the program eventually rolled out across the country.

She says abortion doulas — who are not qualified nurses or counsellors — will be trained to provide "physical, emotional and informational support to people experiencing an unplanned pregnancy who need to access a termination".

That support could be in person, by phone or by video, and before, during and after an abortion.

Daile Kelleher manages Children By Choice, the organisation piloting Australia's first abortion doula training program. ( ABC News: Tim Leslie )

Daile says the abortion doulas will work hand-in-hand with abortion counsellors, and will know when to refer people to medical professionals.

She says they will be able to "[break] down some of the mystifying aspects" of abortion, and argues they will have far-reaching benefits.

If people feel more supported through the abortion process, she says, "we know [it] will have better health outcomes in the long run".

Looking back, Kate says she would have appreciated access to someone who knew what having an abortion at home would be like.

Those long night hours might've felt a little less scary.

"It would have been nice to have someone just to share that with, in the moment," Kate says.