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'Fertility for Colored Girls' launches Florida chapter with Brown Fertility

11.5% of Black women have trouble getting pregnant compared to 7% of white women.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Black women experience infertility at almost double the rate of white women. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 11.5% of Black women have trouble getting pregnant compared to 7% of white women.

This weekend a national non-profit infertility organization launched a Jacksonville branch to help more women of color conceive. 

Brown Fertility is partnering with Fertility for Colored Girls in launching the Jacksonville chapter in hopes of helping more First Coast couples on their path to parenthood.

“It’s isolating. It’s lonely," Rev. Dr. Stacey Edwards-Dunn said. 

Edwards-Dunn experienced that loneliness when she had trouble getting pregnant. 

“It’s an emotional rollercoaster. It’s heartbreaking," Edwards-Dunn said. "You grieve a lot because you end up grieving your dreams and your plans, your original plans.”

She went through seven in vitro fertilization treatments over seven years. 

“Infertility was a taboo topic in the Black community," Edwards-Dunn said.

Edwards-Dunn took action for herself and other Black women by creating Fertility for Colored Girls in 2013.

“We provide education, awareness, support, and encouragement for Black women and couples, as well as other women of color who struggle with infertility, miscarriage, and loss," Edwards-Dunn said. 

The non-profit organization also provides grants and free IVF, in addition to monthly support groups in 16 states. 

“This is a couple’s disease," Julius Varzoni said. 

Julius Varzoni is the chief administrative officer at Brown Fertility and said the clinic will host the first Jacksonville support group virtually in July, and in-person support groups should start within a few months. 

“There’s also research that shows African Americans seek infertility treatment at a much lower rate than white women," Varzoni said.

Varzoni said Black women can also experience infertility because they're more likely to get uterine fibroids and less likely to reach out for help, but there are several options in the fertility journey. 

“It can be as simple as a lifestyle change," Varzoni said. "It can be as simple as an IUI, intrauterine insemination, or as a last resort IVF, in vitro fertilization.”

This is something Edwards-Dunn knows firsthand as the mother of six-year-old Shiloh. 

“You’re not alone, and there is hope," Edwards-Dunn said. "There are so many paths for you to build your family.”

For more information on the Jacksonville chapter of Fertility for Colored Girls, click here

Fertility for Colored Girls has given out $75,000 in grants since its inception. 

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