Grace Koch Speaks at Uterine Fibroid Awareness Event

The Boston EmPOWERed Patient Brunch took place on July 20th in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in honor of Uterine Fibroid Awareness Month. The brunch was organized by Boston Medical Center’s Fibroid Center, The White Dress Project, and the Resilient Sisterhood Project.

The White Dress Project hosts these events regularly across the nation, bringing together fibroid warriors, healthcare professionals, political leaders, and advocates to share stories and raise awareness about uterine fibroids and reproductive justice.

The speakers at the Cambridge brunch included Senator Liz Miranda, Zephyre "Tess" Carrington-Waite, Dr. Yvonne Gomez-Carrion, OB/GYN, and Grace Koch, program associate at Our Bodies Ourselves Today and former president of the Period Project at Boston University.

Grace’s remarks underlined the importance of intergenerational conversations and accessible reproductive health education. A staggering 90% of women will have fibroids by the time they are 50. Black women face an even higher prevalence of fibroids and more severe diagnoses. Fibroids can cause a range of chronic symptoms, including pain, bleeding, infertility, and more.

Uterine fibroids are a serious public health issue, yet the condition is understudied and remains unknown to many women. Our Bodies Ourselves Today strives to help all women and gender expansive people learn about our bodies, as well as to improve reproductive health education more broadly. Accessible, reliable health information and feminist conversation give us the tools to advocate for ourselves.

We are thankful to the BMC Fibroid Center, The White Dress Project, and the Resilient Sisterhood Project for bringing together such an amazing community. These are the kinds of conversations that inspire change and bond women across generations.