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We hope you are feeling physically and emotionally well in this week of reflection, action, and education. Thank you to the many endo warriors who have used their voices and platforms to
acknowledge the racial and ethnic disparities in women’s health. The work you are doing is critical to the advancement of endometriosis care, a disease that is often met with silence, discrimination, and taboo.

Endometriosis is vastly under-funded and continues to be an incredibly difficult disease to diagnose and treat. Black, Indigenous, and PoC individuals with endo face these barriers to receiving proper diagnosis and treatment in higher numbers—and addressing this is the first of many steps towards change in the medical community.

Thank you, again, to our endo community, a community made up of brave, compassionate, and resilient warriors. We are here to support you, to advocate for you, and to amplify your story.

In community, 
Margaret Cianci

Executive Director, EndoFound

Dr. Piraye Yurttas Beim, Founder and CEO of Celmatix and EndoFound Board Member, has been working for over a decade to address critical gaps in data collection for women’s health. In this article, Dr. Beim shares the data concerning the disparity in healthcare for Black women, as well as the steps the medical community should take to meaningfully impact these numbers.

Black women are facing higher infertility rates, greater stigma around reproductive challenges, and larger barriers to accessing fertility care. “Taken together,” Dr. Beim writes, “the picture is clear: the disparities we see in women’s health funding, research, delivery, innovation, data collection, and outcomes are consistently amplified multifold for women of color. As we reflect on policy changes that could have an outsized impact on addressing centuries of racial inequality in the US, we can think of no better place to start than with improving the health of black women.”

We’re excited to announce the launch of EndoFound’s Wellness Workshops: Mind, Body, and Soul.
 
The past few months have been challenging, and the Wellness Workshops aim to provide emotional and physical support to those with endo while also offering an opportunity for members of our community to connect. From pilates and yoga to pelvic health and reiki, our Wellness Workshops are wide in variety and will be held live via Zoom.

First up is Kym Klein’s Mindful Vinyasa Yoga class on Wednesday, June 17th @ 12 pm EDT. Kym, an endo warrior herself, offers a unique exploration on the mat. Her vinyasa class is designed to increase and improve flexibility, and support your overall well-being. Kym will mindfully move you through specific poses that offer healing qualities of the practice including reconnecting to your pelvic floor to repair muscles that have been weakened by endometriosis. You will finish her class feeling invigorated, empowered, and with a stronger capacity to bear stress.

Do you know of a wellness professional who would be interested in leading a workshop? Please email us at wellnessworkshops@endofound.org

EndoFound launched PeriodNow to coordinate with local agencies, businesses, and nonprofits to provide people in NYC with the period supplies they need but can't afford or access. Prior to the pandemic, 1 in 5 women in the U.S. could not afford supplies for at least one month a year, and that number is increasing as a result of the pandemic.

Step up with PeriodNow for period equity by becoming a sponsor or donating to our critical mission. Your donation will distribute menstrual hygiene products to those in need, and with a donation of $85 or more on our website we will send you the exclusive EndoFoundxDuvet Days Endometriosis Anatomy tote bag. Together let’s get those in need the essentials they deserve.

EndoNews, EndoFound’s research portal, covers recent research from around the world on endometriosis. Because research articles are often protected by a paywall, EndoNews provides objective summaries of these articles in order to make this critical information more accessible. Given our mission to share the research articles that highlight the racial and ethnic disparities in endometriosis diagnosis and treatment, EndoNews will be covering one of these articles each week.

The first article, published by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, addresses the steps that can be taken to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in women’s health and healthcare. The first step? Recognizing the existence of such disparities and identifying the contributing factors. The authors set out the different factors contributing to racial and ethnic disparities in women’s health and healthcare including patient-level factors, healthcare system-level factors, and practitioner-level factors, as well as a set of six recommendations to reduce these disparities in women’s health and healthcare.

Clarification: In our last newsletter, there was a sentence that could be misread to suggest that endometriosis was first diagnosed in 1941. This is incorrect. The study that we linked highlights that the supposed (and incorrect) higher incidence of endo in white women was suggested as early as 1941. We have changed the language in our social media captions so this study is interpreted correctly, and our endo community is not misled by incorrect information.

Subscribe to EndoNews for the latest in endometriosis research from around the world, and contribute to these researchers’ mission to improve the lives of endo patients by donating today.

Join Team EndoFound as we gear up to run the TCS 50th Anniversary NYC Marathon in November. As a member of Team EndoFound, you receive a personalized training plan and weekly training tips from our captain, American ski mountaineer and long-distance runner Stevie Kremer, a guaranteed race spot, a Team EndoFound shirt, pre-race dinner for the team in NYC and a post-race dinner party (pending local dining restrictions). What’s better than that exhilarating feeling that YOU are helping to improve the lives of women with endometriosis? So, let’s lace up together!

Interested in sponsoring a runner or helping runners with their fundraising? We’d like to hear from you. Email marathon@endofound.org

There are an estimated 200 million endometriosis patients worldwide, and each endo story is as unique. Consider sharing your story to EndoFound’s column, Endo Stories. By sharing your story, you offer hope, strength, and support to so many other women who have endometriosis. And by amplifying our voices and bravely sharing our stories, we can stop the silence surrounding endo and bring necessary change!

Thank you to everyone across the country who has fundraised in support of endometriosis! From birthday fundraisers on Facebook to running 5Ks, you make it happen. With your help, we can continue working towards increasing endometriosis awareness, education, advocacy, and research. To create a fundraiser, please set up your fundraiser on Facebook.

Follow the EndoFound on social media and be the first to hear about new research, program updates, or different ways to get involved. Our platforms provide a safe and supportive environment to connect people from around the world. Please visit our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and give us any feedback you may have by commenting on our posts or direct messaging us!

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Disclaimer: The information contained on the Endometriosis Foundation of America ("EndoFound") web site and social media is provided for your general information only. EndoFound does not give medical advice or engage in the practice of medicine. The EndoFound under no circumstances recommends particular treatment for specific individuals and in all cases recommends that you consult your physician or local treatment center before pursuing any course of treatment.

References to any entity, product, service, or source of information not related to the EndoFound in this site should not be considered an endorsement, either direct or implied, by the Endometriosis Foundation of America. The EndoFound does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, products, procedures, opinions or other information that may be provided on any linked web sites. The linked web sites may contain text, graphics, images or information that you find offensive. EndoFound has no control over and accepts no responsibility for such materials.

We hope that you find endofound.org useful in providing information and in helping you make your own health care decisions.