Gynecology
History
Hidden Brain- Episode 20: Remembering Anarcha, J. Marion Sims is memorialized as the father of modern gynecology. Often forgotten are the mothers, the enslaved women whose bodies were sacrificed for the advancement of his research.
How This Black Doctor is Exposing The Racist History of Gynecology, Dr. Kameelah Harris urges a better understanding of the history of J. Marion Sims and his experimentation on enslaved women.
How Modern Medicine Was Born of Slavery (Diedre Cooper Owens), In her impassioned talk entitled “Bitter Pills: Race, Health and Medicine,” Dr. Diedre Cooper explores the history of American gynecology and its significant origins in the exploitation of enslaved women
ACOG Webinar District 9 Lecture on Racism in Gynecology by Dr. Kameelah Phillips: An overview of the history of race and racism within the field of gynecology in a webinar format.
The medical ethics of Dr J Marion Sims: a fresh look at the historical record (Wall, 2006)
Sculpture of Paradox: Doctor as Hero and Villain (NYT, 2014)
A Medical Hero, but to Whom? (NYT, 2017)
The ‘Father of Modern Gynecology’ Performed Shocking Experiments on Enslaved Women (History, 2018)
The More Up Campaign: Monument for The Mothers of Gynecology
Endometriosis
Influence of race/ethnicity on prevalence and presentation of endometriosis: a systematic review and meta‐analysis ,A meta-analysis exploring the impact of race and ethnicity on the prevalence of endometriosis. In this review, Black women were less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis compared with White women. The article discusses the etiologies and interpretations of these differences.
Behind the times: revisiting endometriosis and race, This article from AJOG reviews the history of endometriosis, historically considered to be a disease of upper-class white women. Discusses the persistent disparities in diagnosis and management between white and non-white women
Death by Chocolate Cyst: What If My Illness Had A Voice- Antoinette Cooper,Antoinette Cooper uses narrative medicine and poetry to share her struggle with endometriosis. She recounts navigating territories of gender biases, racial biases, medicinal biases, and the politics of pain.
Understanding Endometriosis with EndoBLACK Founder Lauren Kornegay: A Podcast with the founder of Endo BLACK, an organization aimed to support Black Women and women of color dealing with endometriosis. The Endo Co- @endofound@endoqueer@endosistersea
Female Genital Cutting
An argument for “nicks” to protect women by two Gynecologists: Countries that have banned female genital mutilation (FGM) should allow less invasive practices such as small surgical nicks to girls' genitalia as a compromise.
Should Doctors perform minor GYN surgery for patients seeking FGC? A BMJ blog discussion with Dr. Kavita Arora on respecting culture
Female Genital Cutting and the Need for Culturally Competent Communication - ScienceDirect
TEDx: Dr. Nawal Nour, Brigham and womens, Female Genital Cutting and Care in Boston
Fibroids
The Burden of Uterine Fibroids for African-American Women: Results of a National Survey, In this survey-based study of nearly 1000 women with fibroids, significant racial disparities are elucidated in severity of symptoms, quality of life, and patterns of seeking information
Association of Patient Race With Surgical Practice and Perioperative Morbidity After Myomectomy, This retrospective cohort study stratifies surgical approach, operative time, and perioperative morbidity after myomectomy by race. Minority women were significantly less likely to undergo minimally invasive myomectomies, with increased risk of morbidities amongst Black and Asian American women
Podcast: This Afropolitan Life: Uterine fibroids, an epidemic among black women? This podcast illustrates a patient perspective on living with uterine fibroids, calling it “the unspoken epidemic among black women.”
Podcast- Bodies Bleeding, Highlights the harms of simply normalizing menstrual pain and bleeding, and the impacts fibroids can have on patients’ quality of life. The interrelationships of race, fibroids, and body autonomy are explored.
Vulvar Skin Disorders
Project IMPACT: A community dedicated to reducing helathcare bias in skin of color. VisualDx is an award-winning application designed to enhance diagnostic accuracy, aid therapeutic decisions, and improve patient safety. This resource focuses on improving care for people with darker skin tones, starting with diverse clinical images.
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Racial Disparities in STIs Among Adolescents in the USA, This chapter addresses common hypotheses that are often used to account for racial disparities in STIs. Evidence supporting or refuting each hypothesis is discussed, as well as recommendations for healthcare providers to help reduce these disparities.
Sex education is a vehicle for racial justice,Many current sex education efforts have been designed for or by white people, drastically impacting the ability to successfully reach young people of color.
Dysmenorrhea
Why, As A Black Woman, I Struggled To Manage My Period Pain, A patient perspective on dealing with debilitating period pain and the harm of normalizing and dismissing women's suffering. She discusses the role of generational pain in black families and her attempt to break the cycle.
How cultural attitudes to menstruation have finally started to shift | The British Academy: Through art, activism and education, our work suggests ways to challenge and change these prevailing negative associations and to create new and transgressive representations.
Organizations
White Dress Project, The goal of the White Dress Project is to support and promote national awareness about fibroids through education, research, and advocacy. Through fundraising and story sharing they help and empower those with fibroids to no longer suffer in silence.
Incarceration Health
Health care and social justice implications of incarceration for pregnant people who use drugs - PubMed (nih.gov): The experiences of and care for pregnant, incarcerated people with substance use disorders represent a convergence of numerous clinical, historical, racialized, legal, and gendered factors.
Resolving Health Disparities for Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System - PubMed (nih.gov)
Surgery
Examining Disparities in Route of Surgery and Postoperative Complications in Black Race and Hysterectomy, This retrospective cohort study evaluates associations between race, surgical approach, and postoperative complications among women undergoing hysterectomy for benign indications. Results demonstrate higher rates of open hysterectomy and postoperative complications amongst Black women.
Social determinants of access to minimally invasive hysterectomy: reevaluating the relationship between race and route of hysterectomy for benign disease, This cross-sectional study evaluates association between race/socioeconomic status, and route of hysterectomy; findings indicate both racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to robot-assisted hysterectomies, even when controlling for availability of robotic hysterectomy
Inquiry Ordered Into Claims Immigrants Had Unwanted Gynecology Procedures
ICE Detainees in Georgia Say They Had Unneeded Surgeries, NY Times reporting on recent allegations of excessive surgical management of gynecologic issues amongst detained and immigrant women
Mode of Hysterectomy in the Veterans Administration: Associations With Race/Ethnicity and Clinical Factors,A study of nearly 8000 hysterectomies in the VA health system, published in the Green Journal, demonstrating a significantly decreased likelihood of minimally-invasive hysterectomy for black patients, compared with white patients
Associations between Race/Ethnicity, Uterine Fibroids, and Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy in the VA Healthcare System, Similar to the above study, an assessment of 2000 women who received hysterectomies in the VA health system. Amongst women with fibroids, black and Latina women were significantly less likely to receive minimally invasive hysterectomies
Does Universal Insurance Mitigate Racial Differences in Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy? An evaluation of route of hysterectomy for 33,000 patients covered by a universal insurance plan, demonstrating that regardless of coverage, minority women remain significantly less likely to receive minimally-invasive hysterectomies
Access to Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery for Adnexal Surgery: Impact of Race and Payer Mix, A study of 68,000 women undergoing adnexal surgery, demonstrating a significantly lower likelihood of receiving laparoscopic surgery for Black and Latina patients
Socioeconomic and Racial Predictors of Undergoing Laparoscopic Hysterectomy for Selected Benign Diseases: Analysis of 341487 Hysterectomies, A study of 300,000 women undergoing hysterectomy for fibroids or menorrhagia, demonstrating a significantly lower likelihood of Black and Latina women to receive a minimally-invasive hysterectomy
Pelvimetry- Debunked!
Pelvimetry and the persistance of racial science in obstetrics - PubMed
Textbook typologies: Challenging the myth of the perfect obstetric pelvis 2022: One example of how culturally circumscribed misunderstanding and propaganda about anatomy pervades health sciences education and clinical practice is the myth of pelvic typologies. In the current article, we describe the definition and usage of a typological classification of the obstetric pelvis; the history and critique of the construction of these classifications, which are rooted in racism; and the pervasive clinical implications of using these outdated and racist constructs.
Debunking Racism with Pelvic Shapes: Podcast and discussion