Black Women Have Worse IVF Outcomes: New Study Uncovers Possible Culprits

For two decades, fertility specialists have tried to understand why Black women experience lower live‑birth rates from in vitro fertilization (IVF) than their white counterparts.

Researchers point to two main factors: higher rates of fibroids among Black women, which can disrupt embryo implantation, and differences in how their bodies may respond to IVF stimulation medications.

In a recent study, published in Fertility and Sterility, the researchers analyzed more than 246,000 ovarian stimulation cycles, 7% of which were in Black women, to compare how women of different racial or ethnic groups responded to IVF treatments. 

The analysis found that Black women responded slightly better than people of other racial or ethnic groups to ovarian stimulation drugs, and their eggs produced high-quality embryos. This was after the researchers adjusted for participants’ age at retrieval, body mass index, hormone levels, and infertility diagnoses, using data collected between 2017 and 2019 by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, a U.S. professional organization that tracks IVF outcomes from fertility clinics.

However, the study showed that Black women still had a lower live birth rate. Their birth rate was about 45%, compared to approximately 60% for white women.

“There’s clearly something happening that’s a roadblock to getting to the ultimate goal of bringing home a baby,” Iris Tien-Lynn Lee, an ob-gyn at the University of Pennsylvania, told Scientific American.

“I think it’s an issue with implementation,” the lead author of the study said.

The exact cause remains unknown, but researchers note that potential culprits could be the higher rates of uterine fibroids and greater exposure to environmental contaminants, which other studies have shown are more common in Black populations.

Tarun Jain, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, emphasizes that the information in these studies is valuable because it can help address how Black patients are treated in the healthcare system. “Black women in healthcare experience worse outcomes in general, whether it’s maternal mortality, infertility treatment, or preterm birth,” Jain told Scientific American.

RELATED CONTENT: In Special Election, Democrats Flip Florida House Seat Where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Is