The video of a mother from Arkansas showing how her overnight doula has been helping her with her newborn sparked a backlash that Brittany Bright, 28, expected. The mother of two said she knew there would be strong reactions against her choice, but people did not know what she went through after giving birth to her first child.
Bright shared the video of her overnight doula on social media in November, where she revealed that her help stays from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to look after her second baby so she could get a good night's sleep. However, some of her followers criticized her because it's her "job" as a mom to take care of her newborn at night.
One mother said that it makes her sad to see that Bright hired an overnight doula because some of her most precious personal experiences bonding with her baby was during late-night nursing. Other commenters criticized Bright for being a "lazy mother" and failing to fill a basic need between mother and baby. They noted how privileged she must be to afford such a luxury.
A typical night with our postpartum doula.
— Brittany’s Strangely Optimistic (@MissBeeBright) November 19, 2021
There’s zero happenings between 8pm - 6am b/c I’m usually SLEEP, ok?! 😂 pic.twitter.com/0JLygJ2e2a
Why Mom Needed the Doula
However, Bright explained to Fox News that, contrary to the perception of luxury or privilege, she's a self-employed mom who saved up $5,700 to specifically hire an overnight doula for her second child, Maddox, after her challenges with her first baby, Jaxon, in 2016. The mother said that she suffered from postpartum depression with Jaxon and had episodes of blackouts and hallucinations.
Bright anticipated that she might struggle again and decided that she would have to hire a doula to ensure that everything would be fine. She and her husband, Marquis, couldn't rely on family members for extra help since they live 10 hours away.
The doula was at their home for just two nights every week, and the mom effectively used these times for her self-care. She told Fox News that having the doula also gave her time to enjoy a shower, a dinner with her husband and son, and bedtime stories with Jaxon. The doula was also heaven-sent because she assisted with her baby's sleep training. In total, she provided her service to Bright's family for 11 weeks.
Bright said that she didn't have any blackouts and postpartum discomfort because she could take care of herself and get her much-needed sleep and recharge.
"It made a world of difference that we didn't have before," she explained, adding that she highly recommends this for other moms who struggle postpartum as there are insurance and grants for this service.
Why Her Sharing Drew Anger
Samantha Griffin, a postpartum doula, said Bright's video about her overnight doula likely drew a backlash because Bright is a Black woman. People feel that she should not be coasting through the postpartum phase as most expect Black mothers to struggle and suffer to prove that they are good parents. So, to see this experience in the viral video could be unnerving for some of her followers.
Griffin said that she was quite excited for the viral video as a Black woman and a Black doula who has been servicing Black families. She noted that it was courageous for Bright to have this video out for the public to judge.
The doula also said that people had been focused on the "luxury" of what Bright did but discounted the fact that not a lot of mothers know they could have this kind of access and support system today. She said that it's not easy to be a parent in America, regardless of race and social or economic status, so the conversation around Bright's video should zero in on how this kind of support can be available to all mothers.
