We are blessed to have our first return guest, Kimberly Turner who is the Designer, Creative Director, & Stylist for Elizabeth In Pearls. Kim is also an advocate for awareness for an important public health issue - endometriosis.

According to the Office on Women's Health - Endometriosis, often referred to as “endo,” is a condition that happens when tissue similar to the lining of a woman’s uterus (womb) grows outside of the uterus.

The Endometriosis Association began Endo Awareness Month in 1993. ENDO is common. Nearly 15% of American women are impacted, with over 200 million worldwide. In the U.S., research suggests that race plays a significant role in misdiagnosis. Historically, many doctors once believed that White and Asian women got endometriosis and Black women did not. For decades, endometriosis has been thought of as "a White woman’s disease". However, doctors now know that race and ethnicity play a large role in whether a woman develops endometriosis, and how long it takes to get a correct diagnosis, and treatment. For example:

• Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than White women
• Asian women are most likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than any other racial group
• Hispanic women were less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than White women

Many healthcare providers were educated based on the idea that an endometriosis diagnosis is less likely in Black women. For example, a 1951 study suggested that Black women rarely got endometriosis due to genetic factors. As a result, racial bias has influenced both diagnosis and endometriosis care in the African American community.

Endometriosis uniquely affects African-American women. Traditional thinking was that endometriosis was a condition of white women but that conventional thinking is rapidly changing. Unfortunately, when Black women have chronic pelvic pain it is presumed to be due to other conditions like PID (pelvic inflammatory disease, a pelvic infection) or uterine fibroid tumors (very common in Black women). However, endometriosis is real and common in many African-American women.