SELF: What Black women need to know before seeking fertility treatment

Michael Thomas, MD, professor and chair of the UC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, spoke with a journalist for SELF magazine about issues affecting black women seeking fertility treatment. Studies suggest that black women might be twice as likely as white women to have fertility problems but far less likely to receive infertility treatment.

The fertility industry, like much of healthcare, has a racial disparity problem and racism plays a role. There’s the general assumption—even among frontline doctors—that Black women are hyper-fertile, and this exacerbates the biases Black patients experience, explains Thomas, a UC Health physician and head of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Read the full interview with SELF online.

Learn more about Michael Thomas, MD, online.

Featured image of two Black women hugging is courtesy of Unsplash.