Black women with health concerns urged to advocate for themselves

Jenny Pierre has a master’s degree in business administration and speaks five languages. However, her education couldn’t help with something that many other women experience but many don’t want to talk about, but Pierre does.

“At my lowest point, my menstruation was 28 days per month. It was very painful. I would end up in the emergency room, I really can’t count how many times they would just treat me for the night and send me back home,” Pierre said.,

One doctor after another insisted there was nothing to worry about.

“I had a few incidents that happened at work. It was really terrible,” Pierre said.

As her health began to spiral, so did her life, leading to multiple emergency visits and a heartbreaking miscarriage.

“It was really hard. I lost a really good job, I was working there for years because I always ended up in the emergency room and I couldn’t go to work,” Pierre said.

Pierre finds hope after critical testing

Hope emerged when she met a gynecologist who found part of her struggle was linked to fibroids — abnormal growths affecting the uterus. This led her to Dr. Steven Fein, a hematologist specializing in women’s health with HemeOnCall. He found the fibroids and a blood clot issue, combined with the heavy bleeding, caused severe iron deficiency and anemia.

“Many women have an iron deficiency, and we know that Black women have a twofold higher iron deficiency compared to white women. As many as 50% of all Black women have iron deficiency,” he said. 

Fein noted that Hispanic women face similar challenges, primarily due to a lack of awareness among doctors regarding the necessary testing for iron deficiency.

“It’s a big challenge. Doctors don’t know to test the iron because it’s a separate thing to test besides the hemoglobin number. So a lot of times doctors see that your hemoglobin looks okay, and they don’t test the iron separately,” Fein said.

Pierre’s health and life improve after treatment

Thanks to regular iron infusions, Pierre’s health transformed dramatically.

“After my first iron transfusion, it was day and night. I’d wake up and I didn’t feel like I was going to fall down. I didn’t feel that tiredness,” Pierre said.

After enduring nearly two years of suffering, Pierre’s health has turned a corner. Not only is she receiving ongoing iron treatments, but she’s also thriving with her own consulting company and just eight weeks ago, she received even more wonderful news.

“We found out we are pregnant and we are expecting twins,” Pierre said.  

Pierre offers this advice to women facing health adversity, “I would say advocate for yourself.”

“We recommend that all women get iron testing periodically, even if it’s once a year and definitely during her pregnancy.  Any woman who feels tired or short-winded should have iron testing as a way to figure out what is wrong,” Fein said.

The doctor highlighted a critical concern, Black women experience three times higher mortality rates during pregnancy, increased instances of premature births and higher rates of stillbirths. His research points to a concerning link between these disparities and iron deficiency.

April 11-17 is Black Maternal Health Week, dedicated to raising awareness and advocating for the improvement of maternal health outcomes within the African American community.

Najahe Sherman

Najahe Sherman is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated news anchor for CBS News Miami. Najahe anchors CBS Miami News at Noon, the CBS News Miami 4 p.m. QuickCast, and CBS News Miami evening news at 5:30 p.m.