Sekesa Berry, founder of the Atlanta Doula Collective, said she launched the organization as a response to the maternal health crisis that disproportionately affects Black families.
“I put the call out to my community and came together with several doulas at that time to form an on-call network,” Berry said.
Midwives and obstetric-gynecologists would call Berry when a mom needed support, sometimes while she was in labor.
Eventually there was enough interest in the work that Berry turned that network into a nonprofit. The collective now offers doula training with scholarships to students and families, and is made up of over a dozen Black doulas who work with families across the Atlanta metro area, with plans to grow in Southwest Georgia.
“I had no idea it would grow into what it has become,” Berry said. “The vision was to just hold that space that was greatly needed in our communities.”
Around the world, doulas have become a guiding workforce for women and families who experience implicit bias and racism in medical settings — especially as Black and Indigenous women continue to die at almost three times the rate as white women from pregnancy-related causes.
Even Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Review Commission considers bias and discrimination as a factor in contributing to pregnancy-related deaths. According to the commission’s report on deaths between 2018 and 2020, bias and discrimination “probably contributed” to the death of 17 pregnant and postpartum people.
With the screening of a documentary executive produced by Berry, titled Cradled in Culture: Reclaiming the Legacy of Black Doula Care, the joy of birth is explored, too.
The film considered the many roles doulas play — as companions, educators and allies. Berry said featuring joyful music and stories was intentional because joy can be overshadowed by statistics of maternal mortality.
“We wanted people to feel empowered, uplifted,” she said. “I started doing this work in 2006. I don’t recall Black women being afraid of birth. … I do think it’s important that we highlight more joyful experiences in birth. We have to. That’s a part of the journey.”
The documentary also brings attention to the history of Black birth work.
Doulas and midwives have deep roots in Black and Indigenous practices that span generations back. Touching on just one piece of Georgia history, Cradled in Culture features footage from a 1950s film All My Babies: A Midwife’s Own Story, which spotlights a prominent Black midwife from Albany, Mary Francis Hill Cowley, as she prepares two local mothers for the birth of their babies. That film was used to teach birth workers across the state.
In part, Berry said she wants her documentary to be a teaching tool, too.
“Many providers don’t even understand what doulas are and what they do,” Berry said, “which is a part of the prompt for this documentary. I was like, ‘They need to hear it from doulas themselves.'”
Because that misunderstanding can lead to tension. Even years into their practice, many doulas in Cradled in Culture describe a strained relationship with medical providers during appointments or while in the room for hospital births.
Birth workers may be more mainstream, but confusion and burnout persists
Unlike certified nurse midwives, doulas do not need to be certified by a licensing board in order to practice in Georgia. The majority of doulas work outside of the scope of the state’s hospital systems. Though doulas are not considered medical providers, there is evidence that their work results in better outcomes for mom and baby. Several states either actively reimburse or are in the process of implementing reimbursement for doulas through Medicaid.
Thousands of aspiring doulas go through different national organizations every year to get certified and participate in continuing education. Training curriculums vary from months to years depending on the program and can focus on serving different populations.
The Atlanta Doula Collective centers its trainings on culturally competent care — or care that’s rooted around the families needs based on their background and values.
Among the doulas featured in the film is Bashellia Williams, who is in her fourth official year as a doula and describes her “humble beginnings” in birth work as taking root when she got a job as a nurse technician helping in labor and delivery rooms and in the neonatal intensive care unit. Later, she would get requests for birth support from friends and family.
“They really wanted me in their birthing space, ” Williams said.
She now also works as a perinatal patient navigator at the Center for Maternal Health Equity at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
While joyful, the work is not easy, Williams said. Burnout in birth work is real, from giving emotional, physical and spiritual support during an often vulnerable human experience.
By including conversations about burnout, Cradled in Culture gives a necessary “peek” into that journey.
“Seasoned doulas … we are our sister’s keeper,” Williams said. “And we can lean in and we can always learn from each other.”
As for aspiring doulas?
“You find your lane in this work, and you don’t have to be all over the place,” Williams said.
More than speaking for the families and mothers she works with, William’s journey has been learning to be their champion. She encourages her families to feel confident and ask questions of medical providers so that they can be their own advocates for the birthing experience they want.
Cradled in Culture will be streamed at the Georgia Black Doula Day Conference on April 11, hosted by The Atlanta Doula Collective.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
