The Uterus Keeps the Score: Black Women Academics’ Insights and Coping with Uterine Fibroids

Abstract

Few studies examine how high-achieving Black women navigate chronic reproductive health morbidities. Black women are disproportionately more likely to experience uterine fibroids, with earlier onset and more severe symptoms. This study leverages a national mixed-methods data set of Black women academics to examine how they describe symptomatic fibroids impacting their careers and lives. We find that participants (1) actively coped by engaging in superwoman schema, (2) postponed treatment due to the demands of their tenure-track position, and (3) normalized pain. Our findings suggest a potentially high prevalence of uterine fibroids among Black women faculty, that symptomatic fibroids were an impediment to some women’s careers, and that women with symptomatic fibroids often identified expectations of their careers as an impediment to seeking timely treatment. We provide insights for how highly educated, successful Black women cope and navigate career stress coupled with challenges resulting from chronic reproductive health morbidities.