Black Women and Unmet Fertility Desires: Experiences of Infertility, Impaired Fertility, and Involuntary Childlessness in the Quest for Motherhood
| dc.contributor.advisor | Harris Wallace, Brandy | |
| dc.contributor.author | Minter, Alyse | |
| dc.contributor.department | Language, Literacy & Culture | |
| dc.contributor.program | Language Literacy and Culture | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-01-10T20:03:54Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-01-10T20:03:54Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-01-01 | |
| dc.description.abstract | According to the literature, Black women are almost twice as likely to face infertility compared to the general population, experience stillbirth at higher rates, are less likely to seek medical help for fertility challenges, and have lower success rates when utilizing assistive reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). Despite these disparities, Black women and families remain underrepresented in fertility research. Little is known about the causes or implications of infertility for Black women; even less is known about the sociocultural negotiations that Black women and their partners may undergo to make meaning from their experiences and reshape life expectations.Fertility challenges as illness gain meaning through social context. Using Black feminist theory, life course theory, and illness narrative lenses, this qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews with Black women of reproductive age (n = 40) and Black, female medical specialists (reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) physicians and nurses) (n = 5) to explore how middle-class Black women understand and make meaning of their experiences with impaired fertility, to include socialization around motherhood and fertility intentions; experiences of infertility, pregnancy loss, and reproductive disorders; medical help-seeking; and social support seeking in the context of personal and intimate relationships. This study utilized Black feminist methodological frameworks and relied on self-reported fertility challenges among study participants, recognizing Black women as the experts of their experiences. Findings demonstrate that participantsÕ preexisting beliefs about fertility and motherhood impacted their expectations for family building and that unfulfilled motherhood desires profoundly affected their perception of self. Participants also spoke on their experiences navigating medical environments as Black women, including anxieties about medical racism and their desire for race and gender concordance in medical providers. Among married and partnered women, intimate relationships were a source of potential support, with fertility challenges either bringing couples closer together or serving as a source of tension. Discussions of social support seeking demonstrate that accessing emotional support can be complicated and many participants expressed feeling alone in their journeys. This study has implications for addressing Black womenÕs reproductive health disparities, advancing policy solutions to improve womenÕs healthcare, and informing the way medical providers are socialized into the field and engage with patients. | |
| dc.format | application:pdf | |
| dc.genre | dissertation | |
| dc.identifier.other | 12835 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11603/31235 | |
| dc.language | en | |
| dc.relation.isAvailableAt | The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Language, Literacy & Culture Department Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Theses and Dissertations Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Graduate School Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Student Collection | |
| dc.rights | This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu | |
| dc.source | Original File Name: Minter_umbc_0434D_12835.pdf | |
| dc.subject | Black women | |
| dc.subject | Fertility | |
| dc.subject | Infertility | |
| dc.subject | Pregnancy loss | |
| dc.subject | Reproductive health | |
| dc.subject | Women's health | |
| dc.title | Black Women and Unmet Fertility Desires: Experiences of Infertility, Impaired Fertility, and Involuntary Childlessness in the Quest for Motherhood | |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dcterms.accessRights | Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author. |