Ep 43 | A Terrible Strength: Dr. Kemi Doll on Black Women, Perimenopause, and the Womb Care We’re Still Getting Wrong

Perimenopause is already a strange little carnival of bleeding patterns, hot flashes, hormone debates, and wondering whether your body has joined a group chat without you. 

Dr. Kemi Doll, gynecologic oncologist, uterine cancer scientist, and author of A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb and Your Survival Guide to Healing joins this episode of OvaryActive. Together the docs zoom out from the usual menopause chaos to talk about something bigger: the hidden crisis in gynecologic care, especially for Black women, and why “you’re fine” has done a truly Olympic amount of damage.

They get into it all, the stories, science, and systemic failures behind disparities in fibroids, endometriosis, heavy bleeding, uterine cancer, and routine gynecologic care. Dr. Doll shares why maternal mortality is only the tip of the iceberg. And she also shares how Black women are often conditioned to minimize pain and symptoms and why doctors need to stop asking vague questions like, “Any problems with your period?” when someone may be casually working from a bathtub in an adult diaper. 

Listeners will learn how language shapes care, why “normal” bleeding is not always normal, how misinformation finds its opening, and why better questions, better data, and better listening can literally change outcomes. 

Also: nuance is not as catchy as a wellness influencer selling chamomile DNA rearrangement, but unfortunately for the internet, it matters.