It's Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (But Were Never Told)

by Karen Tang

To everyone whose health has suffered because of the patriarchy. You are seen, you are believed, and you deserve change.

Black women also endure markedly elevated rates of maternal mortality. In the United States, they are three times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy or childbirth, even after accounting for factors such as income, education level, insurance coverage, and prenatal care. This statistic goes up in the UK to four times more likely. A large study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research that looked at birth records from California over a ten-year period showed that the maternal mortality rate for the richest Black women (top quintile in income) was similar to that of the poorest white women (lowest quintile).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is one of the largest sources of funding for medical research in the world, and yet some of the biggest multicenter clinical trials funded by the NIH in the twentieth century excluded women altogether, and it wasn’t until 1993 that President Clinton signed an act mandating that NIH-funded human research projects must include women and racial minorities.

In 2022, the NIH allocated $37 million for research on smallpox, a disease that was completely eradicated from the United States in 1949. Compare this with the $27 million budgeted for endometriosis, which affects at least 10 percent of women, or the $15 million for fibroids, which affect 70 percent of white women and 80 percent of Black women.

Certain dietary interventions have been shown to improve physical PMS symptoms. Avoiding or cutting back on caffeine, alcohol, and foods high in salt, fat, and sugar can minimize mood fluctuations, sleep disturbances, bloating, and headaches. There is some evidence that a diet rich in complex carbohydrates (whole grains, vegetables) and adequate calcium intake may improve PMS symptoms. Calcium, magnesium, vitamins E and B6, and herbal supplements such as chasteberry and evening primrose oil have been studied for management of PMS, but they show mixed results in terms of effectiveness.

Breast cancer is an excellent example of a disease where groundbreaking changes can occur if there is access to research funding, insurance coverage for screening and treatment, public education and awareness, and a commitment by the medical community to find more effective treatment options.

Eighty percent of Black women will develop fibroids in their lifetime, yet no one knows why they occur, so there is no way to treat the root cause or prevent them from returning. Imagine if there was a condition that affected 80 percent of white men and caused hemorrhaging, debilitating pain, severe bloating, constipation, frequent urination, and infertility. I’d wager that scientists would have long ago discovered the exact biological cause, and there would be a range of effective treatment options available and covered by insurance.