Dr. Denise Bolds
Ed.D., MSW, CD(DONA), CLC, CBE(ICEA)
New York City, US
Dr. Denise Bolds is a nationally recognized high-risk Birth Doula, educator, researcher, and maternal health advocate based in New York City. With more than 40 years in allied health and over a decade supporting childbirth, Dr. Bolds has attended more than 360 births and specializes in VBAC, surgical birth, induction, and NICU support.
She is the founder of Black Women Do VBAC®, a Black-led organization that provides advanced Doula education focused on high-risk birth scenarios, culturally responsive care, and hospital-based advocacy. Through her training programs, Dr. Bolds has educated Birth Doulas nationwide on VBAC support, surgical birth, induction, NICU care, and interdisciplinary collaboration within maternal health systems.
Dr. Bolds earned her Doctor of Education in Executive Leadership with a focus on Social Justice from St. John Fisher University. Her dissertation, Weathering of Black Doulas in Hospitals: Challenges and Opportunities, examines the lived experiences of Black Birth Doulas as they navigate institutional racism, advocacy barriers, and emotional labor within healthcare systems.
What distinguishes Dr. Bolds is her rare intersection of clinical birth experience, executive leadership scholarship, and systems-level maternal health advocacy. While many professionals work within only one of these spaces, she operates across all three—bringing frontline hospital birth experience, academic research, and organizational leadership together. This multidimensional perspective has positioned her as a sought-after national speaker, trainer, consultant, and policy voice in Black maternal health.
She is also the creator of the Black Doula Wheel of Care™, a framework focused on sustainability, self-care, and professional resilience for Birth Doulas of color. Through her work, Dr. Bolds remains committed to advancing Black maternal health equity through education, leadership, advocacy, and systems change.
