Biography:

Laela Bisgrove is a full-spectrum doula, matrescence coach, perinatal behavioral health coach, integrative mental health clinician, and holistic wellness practitioner devoted to supporting individuals and families across the perinatal journey from preconception through postpartum and beyond. Her work is rooted in a trauma-informed, heart-centered, and strength-based approach that honors the emotional, psychological, and relational layers of becoming and being a parent.

Laela brings a powerful blend of clinical training, lived experience, and community leadership into every space she holds. She has received full-spectrum doula training through Birth Advocacy Doula Trainings (BADT) and Doula Lab, and further deepened her practice through the Boston COPHI Doula Training with the Boston Public Health Commission, grounding her work in public health, equity, and community-based care.

As a parent of two sets of twins and someone who has navigated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, her work is deeply informed by both professional expertise and embodied understanding. As a matrescence coach, she supports individuals through the profound and often complex transition into parenthood holding space for identity shifts, emotional vulnerability, and the unseen labor of becoming.

She is especially attuned to those navigating overwhelm, trauma, systemic barriers, or gaps in care, and is committed to creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and empowered in their full experience.

Laela is actively engaged in advancing maternal and perinatal mental health systems through her leadership with Postpartum Support International (PSI MA), where she contributes to equity-centered initiatives, peer support, and community-based programming. She is also involved in regional coalition work through the New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative, supporting community-informed solutions that center patient voice and lived experience.

Her approach integrates mindfulness, psychoeducation, peer support, and holistic modalities including Reiki and energy work. She is passionate about redefining care to be more connected, inclusive, and responsive ensuring families are not only supported through transitions, but truly held within them.

Why did you become a doula?

I became a doula because I saw how much was missing in the spaces where people needed support the most. My own journey into parenthood and into perinatal mental health showed me how easy it is to feel alone, overwhelmed, and unseen during such a life-altering transition.

This work felt like a calling. I wanted to be the kind of support that I needed someone who could sit with the hard moments, hold space without judgment, and remind people of their strength when they’ve lost connection to it. Becoming a doula allowed me to step into that role in a way that feels deeply aligned with who I am.

What is your personal connection to birth/family/community?

Family and community are at the core of my life and my work. As a mother of two sets of twins, I have lived the intensity, the beauty, and the transformation that comes with parenting. I also understand how complex that experience can be emotionally, mentally, and relationally.

My connection to community comes from both lived experience and the spaces I’ve helped build and facilitate. I’ve seen firsthand that healing doesn’t happen in isolation it happens in connection. That belief shapes everything I do, from one-on-one support to group facilitation and systems-level advocacy.

What is your philosophy of doula care?

My philosophy is grounded in the belief that you are the expert of your own experience.

I approach care with deep respect for autonomy, consent, and individual choice. My role is not to lead or direct, but to walk alongside to provide information, emotional support, and grounding so you can make decisions that feel right for you.

I also believe that the perinatal journey is not just physical it is emotional, psychological, and often spiritual. True support means tending to all of those layers, not just what is visible on the surface. Holding, guiding, and nurturing you through matrescence where healing, identity, and becoming gently unfold supported with compassion, clarity, deep presence, and whole-person care, so you feel seen, connected, and never alone in the midst of your becoming.

Who is your ideal client?

My ideal client is someone who is looking for more than just informational support they are seeking connection, understanding, and care that meets them as a whole person.

They may be navigating anxiety, past trauma, identity shifts, or complex life circumstances. They may feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure but they are open to being supported and don’t want to do it alone.

They value authenticity, compassion, and a holistic approach, and are looking for someone who can hold space for both the practical and emotional parts of their journey.