Black Infertility History

28 Days of Memory, Resistance, and Care

Never the end. Always new beginnings. Day 28/28. #oshungriot #blackhistorymonth #reproductivejustice
Nothing new under the sun. Still, new suns rise. Black History Month, Day 28. #oshungriot
Nothing new under the sun. Still, new suns rise. Black History Month, Day 28. #oshungriot
Numbers don’t explain everything. But they do tell a story. #blackhistorymonth #oshungriot #reproductivejustice
Numbers don’t explain everything. But they do tell a story. #blackhistorymonth #reproductivejustice #oshungriot
Numbers don’t explain everything. But they do tell a story. #blackhistorymonth #reproductivejustice #oshungriot
We were never what the myths said we were. Our stories of fertility, infertility, and family have always been more complex and more human. This is Black history. #blackhistorymonth #reproductivejustice #oshungriot
We were never what the myths said we were. Our stories of fertility, infertility, and family have always been more complex and more human. This is Black history.#blackhistorymonth #oshungriot #reproductivejustice
We were never what the myths said we were. Our stories of fertility, infertility, and family have always been more complex and more human. This is Black history.#blackhistorymonth #oshungriot #reproductivejustice
Miss Major reminds us that lineage survives in bodies, in care, and in community. #BlackHistoryMonth #OshunGriot
Miss Major reminds us that lineage survives in bodies, in care, and in community. #BlackHistoryMonth #OshunGriot
Miss Major reminds us that lineage survives in bodies, in care, and in community. #BlackHistoryMonth #OshunGriot
Black women have been saying this. Y'all haven't always listened...
A 2022 NIH study found that frequent use of chemical hair straighteners was associated with higher uterine cancer risk.
 Uterine health is fertility health. #infertility #blackhistorymonth #oshungriot
In 2022, a large study from the National Institutes of Health found that frequent use of chemical hair straighteners was associated with a higher risk of uterine cancer. This isn’t about blame or individual choices. It’s about environmen
In 2022, a large study from the National Institutes of Health found that frequent use of chemical hair straighteners was associated with a higher risk of uterine cancer. This isn’t about blame or individual choices. It’s about environmental exposure and why uterine health is fertility health. Sigh. Source: NIH / NIEHS Sister Study (2022) #FertilityHealth #UterineHealth #EnvironmentalHealth #OshunGriot
Did you know? The progesterone used in every IVF cycle — a Black chemist figured out how to mass-produce it. Harvard blocked his PhD. His house was bombed. Most people have never heard his name. Dr. Percy Julian. #didyouknow #fertilitytok #ivfjourney #blackhistory #progesterone #percyjulian #reproductivejustice #blackscientists #fertilityawareness #ivfcommunity
Did you know the progesterone you take during IVF exists because of a Black chemist? Dr. Percy Julian figured out how to mass-produce progesterone from soybeans in 1940. Before him? They were extracting it from hundreds of pounds of cattle spinal cor
Did you know the progesterone you take during IVF exists because of a Black chemist? Dr. Percy Julian figured out how to mass-produce progesterone from soybeans in 1940. Before him? They were extracting it from hundreds of pounds of cattle spinal cords. His first pound was worth $684,000 and shipped in an armored car. Harvard pulled his teaching assistantship because they didn't want a Black man teaching white students. He went to Vienna, got his PhD anyway, and came back to change medicine forever. His work laid the foundation for fertility hormones, birth control, AND cortisone. Then his house was bombed when he moved into an all-white suburb in Chicago. Percy Julian belongs in the fertility timeline. Period. Day 22/28 @oshungriot #fertilityjourney #IVF #progesterone #percyjulian #blackhistory #reproductivejustice #fertilitytimeline #blackscientists #IVFcommunity #fertilityawareness
Ebony Magazine. 1995. Day 21/28
Day 21/28 Ebony was telling Black infertility stories decades ago. Four years trying. Five IVF attempts. And the cost wasn’t just money — it was time, stress, and strain. “This is our $30,000 baby.” #BlackHistoryMonth #Blac
Day 21/28 Ebony was telling Black infertility stories decades ago. Four years trying. Five IVF attempts. And the cost wasn’t just money — it was time, stress, and strain. “This is our $30,000 baby.” #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackInfertility #IVF #OshunGriot
Climate change is a fertility issue. In post-Katrina New Orleans, Black fertility fell and stayed low. White fertility increased. Same disaster. Different future. Day 20/28.
After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans didn’t just lose people. It lost Black births. Researchers found Black fertility rates fell and stayed 4% below expected through 2010, while White fertility rates increased 5% above expected. Same city. Sa
After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans didn’t just lose people. It lost Black births. Researchers found Black fertility rates fell and stayed 4% below expected through 2010, while White fertility rates increased 5% above expected. Same city. Same disaster. Different future. Source: Seltzer & Nobles (2017), Population and Environment #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackInfertility #ClimateJustice #OshunGriot
They told us we were a problem no matter what we did. This is how Black fertility was framed, policed, and blamed. #BlackHistoryMonth #ReproductiveJustice #oshungriot
Day 19/28 They turned Black motherhood into a stereotype. Then they used that stereotype to justify policies that controlled our bodies and our futures. This is part of the history behind distrust, delayed care, and reproductive harm. #BlackHistoryMo
Day 19/28 They turned Black motherhood into a stereotype. Then they used that stereotype to justify policies that controlled our bodies and our futures. This is part of the history behind distrust, delayed care, and reproductive harm. #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackInfertility #ReproductiveJustice #OshunGriot
They had names for it. “Mississippi appendectomy.” “Temporary surgery.” “Medical necessity.” It was none of those things. Elaine Riddick. Fannie Lou Hamer. Nial Ruth Cox. Kelli Dillon. Different decades. Same violation. This is not ancient history. This is why trust was broken. This is why fertility justice matters now. #BlackHistoryMonth #ReproductiveJustice #BlackWomen #FertilityHistory #OshunGriot
Never the end. Always new beginnings. Day 28/28. #oshungriot #blackhistorymonth #reproductivejustice
Nothing new under the sun. Still, new suns rise. Black History Month, Day 28. #oshungriot
Numbers don’t explain everything. But they do tell a story. #blackhistorymonth #oshungriot #reproductivejustice
Numbers don’t explain everything. But they do tell a story. #blackhistorymonth #reproductivejustice #oshungriot
We were never what the myths said we were. Our stories of fertility, infertility, and family have always been more complex and more human. This is Black history. #blackhistorymonth #reproductivejustice #oshungriot
We were never what the myths said we were. Our stories of fertility, infertility, and family have always been more complex and more human. This is Black history.#blackhistorymonth #oshungriot #reproductivejustice
Miss Major reminds us that lineage survives in bodies, in care, and in community. #BlackHistoryMonth #OshunGriot
Miss Major reminds us that lineage survives in bodies, in care, and in community. #BlackHistoryMonth #OshunGriot
Black women have been saying this. Y'all haven't always listened...
A 2022 NIH study found that frequent use of chemical hair straighteners was associated with higher uterine cancer risk.
 Uterine health is fertility health. #infertility #blackhistorymonth #oshungriot
In 2022, a large study from the National Institutes of Health found that frequent use of chemical hair straighteners was associated with a higher risk of uterine cancer. This isn’t about blame or individual choices. It’s about environmen
Did you know? The progesterone used in every IVF cycle — a Black chemist figured out how to mass-produce it. Harvard blocked his PhD. His house was bombed. Most people have never heard his name. Dr. Percy Julian. #didyouknow #fertilitytok #iv
Did you know the progesterone you take during IVF exists because of a Black chemist? Dr. Percy Julian figured out how to mass-produce progesterone from soybeans in 1940. Before him? They were extracting it from hundreds of pounds of cattle spinal cor
Ebony Magazine. 1995. Day 21/28
Day 21/28 Ebony was telling Black infertility stories decades ago. Four years trying. Five IVF attempts. And the cost wasn’t just money — it was time, stress, and strain. “This is our $30,000 baby.” #BlackHistoryMonth #Blac
Climate change is a fertility issue. In post-Katrina New Orleans, Black fertility fell and stayed low. White fertility increased. Same disaster. Different future. Day 20/28.
After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans didn’t just lose people. It lost Black births. Researchers found Black fertility rates fell and stayed 4% below expected through 2010, while White fertility rates increased 5% above expected. Same city. Sa
They told us we were a problem no matter what we did. This is how Black fertility was framed, policed, and blamed. #BlackHistoryMonth #ReproductiveJustice #oshungriot
Day 19/28 They turned Black motherhood into a stereotype. Then they used that stereotype to justify policies that controlled our bodies and our futures. This is part of the history behind distrust, delayed care, and reproductive harm. #BlackHistoryMo
They had names for it. “Mississippi appendectomy.” “Temporary surgery.” “Medical necessity.” It was none of those things. Elaine Riddick. Fannie Lou Hamer. Nial Ruth Cox. Kelli Dillon. Different decades. Same vi