Endometriosis is a chronic condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, often causing severe pelvic pain and making conception more challenging. Unfortunately, many African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) women face significant barriers to diagnosis and treatment. To bridge this gap, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) has launched an endometriosis hub specifically for the ACB community, aiming to improve awareness, access, and care.
Dr. Diane Francoeur is an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Centre hospitalier universitaire mère-enfant (CHU Sainte-Justine hospital) and the CEO of SOGC. She said there is a lot of misconception about the reproductive health of Black women and that they wanted to highlight the fact that Black women can have endometriosis. Sometimes, it is worse in the reproductive fields, such as in the case of fibroid.
“That was the purpose—to educate women that it’s not okay to feel pain and it’s okay to ask questions about it. That’s why we did all these patient information recommendations,” Francoeur said to the CONTACT.
The Endrometious Hub has various patient information, such as listed resources for endometriosis information and an episode from SOGC’s Women’s Health Podcast called The Impact of Endometriosis and Fibroids on Black Communities.
Francoeur added that now that there are various data about how race and ethnicity may affect racialized communities in the healthcare system, it becomes even more significant to raise awareness.
“I’ve been there for 30 years, and when I started my practice, we used not to ask specific questions about race and ethnicity because we were taught that women felt that it was the kind of racist question, but now we know we have the data that things are different, so we have to inquire,” Francoeur said. “If we look at an example where we have much more data now, such as the maternal mortality rate, meaning women will die when they have a baby; If you look at it, it’s more prevalent in Black women, and the ratio is quite big.”
Francoeur explained that there is not much data in the reproductive health care system, which makes it crucial why awareness is essential. It would allow better action and recommendations for women starting their reproductive life, allowing them to have proper care and the best sexual and reproductive health.
She added that one of the main reasons why Black women with endometriosis face challenges is because of racism.
“Even though people don’t like to talk about racism in the healthcare system, it’s still there. If Black women don’t ask, many healthcare providers won’t ask them the questions,” Francoeur said.
Francoeur explained that as healthcare providers, it is vital to listen to the realities that women from racialized communities tell about their experiences because if they are not exposed to them, they will not know about their stories.
Francoeur said that SOGC wants women worldwide, especially in Canada, to speak out. She added that recently, they had an endometriosis forum with around 750 women listening to the webinar. A patient could tell her story, and an expert would answer all the audience’s questions.
“They’re going to be more outspoken, and they’re going to tell us about all the myths and misconceptions that are being submitted from one generation to another,” Francoeur said. “This is why we learn from the women telling us their secrets, so we can respectfully share them—in the way we teach and train our medical students so they know about the burden that is sometimes much bigger in Black women with infertility or having pregnancy complications.”
To learn more about the SOGC and the crucial work they do for women’s health visit https://sogc.org.
