Why Black women face a silent health crisis

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2026

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Science Quickly, gynecologic oncologist and health equity researcher Kemi Doll explains why the well-known Black maternal mortality crisis is part of a broader “Black womb crisis” in which many Black women experience a lifetime of gynecologic health challenges. Drawing on research and personal stories from her new book A Terrible Strength, Doll explores how Black women face disparities in conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, and endometrial cancer and how gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care contribute to worse outcomes for this population. Recommended Reading: A Terrible Strength. Kemi Doll. Harmony, 2026 Black women have worse IVF outcomes. New science helps explain why E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:44.9	In 2024, which is the most recent year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released data for,
1:52.1	black women faced a maternal mortality rate of 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births.
1:57.9	That means they were more than three times as likely to die during childbirth than white women were. But the black maternal mortality crisis is just one part of a much larger problem.
2:04.8	Black women also face disproportionately high rates of conditions like fibroids throughout their
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