Meet Tara
Tara Campbell · Adv.CD(DONA) · Postpartum Doula · DONA Birth Doula TrainerLamaze Childbirth Educator
“You don’t know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”
Founder of Boston’s first doula agency, DONA International’s Director of Certification, and a trusted guide for high-risk and high-profile births.
Tara Campbell is a certified Birth Doula (2001), a Birth Doula Trainer with DONA International (2006) and a Childbirth Educator through Lamaze International (2003). She founded Birthing Gently in 2002, led the Birthing Gently Maternal Health Community Doula Program (BGMH) from 2013 to 2025, and launched the MassHealth Doula Collective in 2025. She has trained thousands of birth doulas since 2006 and serves as the Director of Certification for DONA International.
She works as an adolescent and cesarean section educator with obstetrical patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and teaches DONA International Birth Doula workshops. She works closely with the Birthing Gently team and manages daily administrative tasks.
Tara takes high-risk clients on a limited basis. She also accepts high-profile clients who need an added layer of discretion, autonomy and confidentiality, and has worked with celebrities, professional athletes, executives, community leaders and public officials.
Tara’s main area of interest is Maternal-Fetal Medicine and high-risk OB/GYN patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, including:
You are in control more than you know.
We must give our clients the unbiased tools they need to make informed, evidence-based decisions about their care, so they can enter labor with a clear, educated and open mind. Everyone, whether they choose an unmedicated, medicated or cesarean birth, needs our support and quality care.
Tara’s style is a bit more direct and no-nonsense. She will help you focus, redirect and adapt as birth unfolds. You are in control more than you know. Don’t let fear be the roadblock! Working with certain providers, she has been at the forefront of bringing the Family Centered Cesarean approach to her clients.
Tara built her knowledge working in antepartum, the newborn nursery, the OR, post-op, pediatrics, the emergency department and postpartum. It wasn’t long before she realized that “home” was the labor and delivery unit, and that passion set her on the doula path. She has also been a childbirth educator in hospitals, private institutions and federally funded community programs, with a focus on curriculum for teens and families expecting multiples.
Certifications
- Advanced Certified Birth Doula, DONA International
- Postpartum Doula
- Birth Doula Trainer, DONA International
- Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE)
- Approved Carrot Fertility provider
Leadership
- Director of Certification, DONA International
- Founder, Birthing Gently
- Founder, Birthing Gently Doula Collective for MassHealth families
- Founder, BGMH Community Doula Program, in partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital Midwifery
- Community doula trainer, Mass General Brigham United Against Racism initiative
- Instructor, High Risk Doula Certification, Megi-Health
- Senior advisor, Support Birth, Tucson, AZ
- Creator, BOSSGIRLS virtual teen support group
Teaching
- Adolescent and cesarean educator, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Instructor, Harvard University
- Instructor, Tufts University School of Medicine (TOPS program)
- Faculty, Birthwise Midwifery School, Maine
- Faculty, Birthroot’s, Portland, Maine
- Childbirth educator, Isis Parenting, Boston
- Childbirth educator, Destination Maternity, Boston, Connecticut and New York City
- Birth doula educator, Northern Essex Community College
- Early-childhood community education, Imagine That, Lawrence, MA
Doula trainings for
- Harvard Medical School
- Tufts University School of Medicine
- Maine Medical Center
- Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
- Haverhill High School
- Enon Tabernacle Doula Ministry, Philadelphia
Speaking
- Massachusetts Medical Society
- Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition
- Kansas City University School of Medicine
- Maine Medical Center
- International Doula Meeting, Santa Joana Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil
Community partnerships & committees
- Newton-Wellesley Hospital Patient in Need Fund and domestic violence advocates
- Boston Children’s Hospital Virtual Committee
- Haverhill High School Healthcare Advisory Committee
- Pentucket Perinatal Mental Health Coalition
- DONA International Certification Committee
- American Heart Association / Boston Children’s Hospital CVDY Committee
Continuing education
- Harvard Medical School: Annual Update in Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Harvard University: Exercising Leadership: Foundational Principles
- Harvard University: Leaders of Learning
- Stanford University School of Medicine:
- Spaulding Rehabilitation, Mass General Brigham: Building Provider Capacity for Women with Spinal Cord Injury
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital: Obstetrical Neurology Conference
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP): Adolescent Gynecologic Emergencies
- Cape and Islands Maternal Depression Task Force: Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
- Massachusetts Psychiatric Academy: Psychiatric Disorders in Women: Diagnostic and Treatment Considerations Across the Female Lifespan
- Mercy In Action: Cultural Competency and Respect in the Provision of Maternity Care
- QMED: Black Maternal Health Conference
- DONA International Summits
Tara has five children, Evian (1996), Shelby (2002), Kendal (2003), Hailee (2006) and Katheryn (2009), and one grandson (2025). She didn’t have a doula at her first two deliveries, but did at her third, fourth and fifth, which were scheduled cesareans. The difference amazed her: far less anxiety, greater birth satisfaction and an easier recovery.
In her spare time, Tara enjoys time with her family, hiking and paddleboarding with her cockapoo Bubbles, skiing, running, and drag racing her Dodge Challenger SRT in the quarter mile. She is co-administrator of the East Coast Challenger Car Club and loves all things motorsports.
In honor of Penny Simkin, co-founder of DONA International, who trained Tara. Her wisdom and compassion live on in every family we support and every doula we train.
Penny and Tara
Work with Tara
Tara takes high-risk clients on a limited basis. Reach out to talk about your birth and whether she’s the right fit.
Book a consultation