Meet Our Doulas

Mari-Elena Leckel is extremely passionate about supporting, educating, and empowering families during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. She was born in New York and is the oldest of three children. Mari became a mother at a young age and met her husband when her daughter was seven years old. With the love and support of her husband and family, and her determination to succeed, she decided to go back to school and went on to graduate from Tufts University with a degree in Sociology. Upon receiving her degree, she began working in law enforcement.

Mari and her husband decided in 2009 to expand their family but were challenged by infertility issues. The next few years were filled with a multitude of doctor visits, moments of excitement and also heartbreak. In 2012, she gave birth to her second daughter and because of the tremendous amount of love and support throughout her journey, she wanted to “somehow, give that back.”  She completed trainings as a Childbirth Educator, Labor and Postpartum Doula through CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association), Dancing For Birth™ Instructor, Belly Binding Artist and Child Passenger Safety Technician.  She received her Certification in Lactation Counseling and is certified by the Academy of Lactation Policy and Procedure.  Mari is also a Certified Labor and Postpartum & Infant Care Doula, Certified Labor & Postpartum Doula Trainer  and Infant Feeding Specialist through ProDoula.  She has been featured in Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine’s “Ask the Experts”, The Boston Globe, written a blog for Motherly “A Pep Talk to Mamas during Coronavirus”  and facilitated a workshop on running a successful doula agency at the 2017 annual ProDoula Conference.  In 2018 Mari was invited by a Massachusetts hospital to provide a training to their labor and delivery staff on comfort measures in labor.   Mari received her 200 hour Yoga Teacher certification in May 2019 and helped to create the “Doc & Doula” Podcast. She was the Director of Doula Services and built a successful doula agency for Acelleron Maternal Health & Wellness until the company decided to close their doors in October 2017.  Mari and her team had a passion and commitment to continue to support families and Boston Birth Associates was born.

The journey to motherhood is different for everyone but Mari believes every mother and family deserve to be loved, encouraged, educated, and empowered with non-judgmental and unconditional support. Mari considers it an honor and privilege to work with families during such intimate and special moments.

Nicolette Moisan has always felt a strong connection with babies and children in all lines of her work. When she realized the impact she had on helping parents, she found her true passion. Nicolette attended Regis College and later SNHU for Psychology, focusing on Mental Health & Substance Abuse. She went on to be a career childcare provider, as well as answering crisis calls for mental health and substance abuse patients. When Nicolette came across the profession of “all things doula”, she knew it was a perfect marriage between empowering parents to confidently bring babies into this world and being able to provide care for them once they bring their baby home! Through ProDoula, Nicolette is a certified Labor and Postpartum & Infant Care Doula, Infant Feeding Specialist, and Childbirth Educator. Through certification in Pediatric Sleep at SleepSavvy, she is inspired to work as a Sleep Specialist. With this, she will support families in balancing the parents’ need for sleep and mental wellness with the baby’s needs. Nicolette cannot wait to provide all of these non-judgmental services to families as well as ensure they will feel comfortable and supported in such a special time of their lives.

Martha Bishop was raised in Wayland and Framingham MA and then moved out to Western MA for college and stayed for 30 years!  Her first job was as a neighborhood babysitter and that’s when her life-long interest in babies and children began. She worked as a child-care provider for 12 years before taking a side step into the world of corporate sales for many years.  Fortunately, she was able to step away from that and get back to her true love of caring for babies and families with young children.  Although Martha has no children of her own, she does have nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and even a great grandnephew, in her life.

Martha trained as a Labor Doula in 2015 and is certified through ProDoula.  She trained and certified as a Postpartum & Infant Care Doula through ProDoula in 2017.  Martha is also certified through AALP as a Lactation Counselor.  She is currently working on certification as a Childbirth Educator through ProDoula and recently became a massage therapist.

Martha has a passion and is excited to help support and educate expecting and new families during this important life transition.

Alexandra Crafts (Lexie) was born and raised in Massachusetts where she still lives with her husband Rob and their three children. Lexie noticed a difference in her entire pregnancy and labor experience during her second pregnancy when she added HypnoBirthing, a doula for support, and weekly fitness classes to her routine. She wanted to educate herself and others on the benefits of exercising safely during pregnancy. In 2017 she got certified as a Prenatal Fitness Specialist through AFPA and soon after received her group fitness certification through The American Council on Exercise!

Lexie also got trained as a postpartum doula in 2018 and has been certified as a HypnoBirthing educator through The HypnoBirthing Institute! She is so excited to be continuing as a postpartum doula and teach the HypnoBirthing course at Boston Birth Associates! HypnoBirthing changed Lexie’s whole perspective of labor and birth and she is ecstatic to be able to help others experience the empowering and peaceful experience of a natural birth using the evidence based practice of HypnoBirthing!

Rachel Echeveri is a mother to a spirited 7 year old daughter. She was inspired by her 15 years of experience as a professional early educator to support families more intimately. Rachel enjoyed the deep connections formed with the families of her students, and the teamwork atmosphere of a classroom. She also studied Art Education at the Massachusetts College of Art. She became enthralled with birth work and fell in love with helping parents feel empowered and lift up their voices.

Rachel is a Certified Labor Doula and Postpartum & Infant Care Doula. She is also a Childbirth Educator and Infant Feeding Educator. Rachel also teaches Newborn Care and Breastfeeding classes for Boston Birth Associates. Rachel’s interpersonal skills and caregiving nature always puts her doula clients at ease. In her free time Rachel enjoys biking, hiking, yoga, reading, baking and creating artwork. She looks forward to providing your family with nonjudgmental and evidenced based support!

Meghan Scafati grew up in Methuen, MA, as an only child surrounded by her large, close-knit extended family. Her cousins have always been more like siblings, and from babysitting frequently by age 11 to being a proud Auntie to 12 amazing kids, Meghan has been a nurturer her whole life.  After graduating UMass Lowell with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and Psychology, Meghan worked as a manager within state government for 10 years. It was there that she met her husband; they married in 2013 and have a 2 year old daughter. After a high-risk pregnancy and her own experience giving birth with wonderful doula support, Meghan felt compelled to join Boston Birth Associates to give other families what she had received – amazing, non-judgmental support, informed choices, and confidence. Meghan has a myriad of past experience, both personal and professional, that has given her the skills to help mothers and families navigate this incredible, chaotic, challenging, and beautifully transformative time in their lives.

Meghan completed the Labor and Postpartum & Infant Care trainings through ProDoula and also provides Maternity Concierge services for BBA. Maternity Concierge options include event planning (baby showers/sprinkles, baptisms/christenings, birthday parties, etc.) and design services (nursery, playroom, etc.), both of which Meghan has varied and comprehensive experience handling – and a genuine passion for! Planning these things can be very overwhelming for new and even seasoned parents, so leave it to someone who loves considering the tiniest details and developing a way to make your perfect vision come to life. Meghan would be thrilled to help you plan and execute a wonderful event or a beautiful, functional space!

Amanda has always felt a strong connection and carried a passion for working with children and families. Starting at the young age of ten, as a mother’s helper, she continued following her passion working professionally with children and supporting families for years to come. In 2011 Amanda graduated from Springfield College with a bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation with a minor in Child Life Services. She then went on to complete her Master of Social Work from Boston College and worked in an outpatient group setting for those with mental health and substance use diagnosis. Amanda is a Certified Labor and Postpartum & Infant Care Doula. After the birth of her daughter, Amanda made doula work her full-time profession. Amanda believes in supporting parents with their preferences and being the voice for advocacy in all capacities possible. Amanda is passionate about the well-being and mental health of the family as a whole, and strives to be a open, unbiased, warm layer of support.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!