Centering Reproductive Health of Black Women with Sickle Cell Disease with Dr. Shameka Poetry Thomas

Dr. Shameka Poetry Thomas is a medical sociologist with special interest in reproductive justice and genetics technology as well as the intersection of maternal healthcare with sickle cell disease. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Miami, she completed her two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Human Genomics Research Institutes (NHGRI).

In this episode, Dr. Thomas centers the experiences of pregnant Black women with sickle cell disease, who, despite advances in medicine, genetics and reproductive technology, have been neglected by research communities due to intersecting marginalized identities despite high mortality during pregnancy and childbirth. Dr. Thomas walks us through what non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is and how it relates to sickle cell disease specifically. Her ...