‘It’s UATL’ podcast: The surgery Black women don’t talk about enough
All Tanika Gray Valbrun wanted was to have a baby.
Instead, she was told to consider other paths to motherhood because she had uterine fibroids.
Benign tumors that can grow in and around the uterus, uterine fibroids can cause infertility, heavy bleeding and pain and can impact other organs and affect mental health.
Valbrun’s doctor said she would need to have her uterus removed — a hysterectomy.
“He said, ‘Tanika, forget about it. You won’t be a mother the traditional way. I just need you to have a hysterectomy because your uterus is way too compromised. You and your husband just save your money and get a surrogate.”
Valbrun remembers the emotions that followed.
“I walked out the doctor’s office … walked into the parking garage and literally fell down on the floor and started crying,” she recalls.
According to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women in the South have the highest hysterectomy rates in America. An investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that women in the broader South — the area from Maryland to Texas — are more likely to have had the surgery than any other region.
Black women are also more likely to suffer from fibroids.
Valbrun, a journalist and educator, sat down with the hosts of “It’s UATL” to share her long road to becoming a mom. She also talks about what led her to launch the White Dress Project, an Atlanta-based organization designed to support others facing similar challenges.
“I really want people to understand that their voice really matters and that their story can be a data point for doctors, for our members of Congress,” she told the hosts.
“Without these stories, they don’t know what’s happening.”
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About the Author
Gavin Godfrey is an editor and Team Lead for UATL, the AJC's Black culture franchise. He's an award-winning writer and editor from Atlanta who's covered everything from OutKast to the water boys. Before joining the AJC, Gavin worked for Capital B Atlanta, CNN, and Creative Loafing.
