Viral illustration of Black foetus sparks vital debate about diversity in medicine

A drawing of a Black foetus in the womb has gone viral on social media, sparking many conversations about racial diversity in medicine and in particular, medical imagery.

The illustration, drawn by 25-year-old medical student Chidiebere Sunday Ibe, has struck a chord with people as they point out this is the first time they have seen such an image.

The image was shared by @Liyahsworld_xo on Twitter in a post that read: “I’ve literally never seen a black foetus illustrated, ever. This is amazing @ebereillustrate.”

The tweet now has over 46,000 retweets and over 330,000 likes since it was shared on Saturday, with many hailing the student’s work and noting the necessity for diversity in the medical field.

One Twitter user wrote: “When you’re so used to not being represented that you gasp when you are. I’ve never seen a Black person in a medical illustration. I’ve never seen a book featuring a Black foetus and mother. Thank you @ebereillustrate.”

Another shared her thoughts too, saying: “Thank you for this @ebereillustrate. Being pregnant, I’ve become aware of the lack of representation of black pregnancies on apps and many social media pages. It’s sad this is the first time I’ve seen an illustration of a black foetus. Representation matters.”

For Ibe, an aspiring neurosurgeon, his medical drawings are a way to show people how certain conditions look like on Black people.

In his own original tweet sharing his illustration, he wrote: “I’m black and black is beautiful! Diversity in Medical Illustration More of this should be encouraged!”

He also shared a link to his GoFundMe page where people can make donations to help fund Ibe’s medical illustrations as well as support his dream of becoming a paediatric neurosurgeon.

Speaking to HuffPost UK, he said: “This image was created like every other image, I never expected it to be viral. The whole purpose was to keep talking about what I’m passionate about – equity in healthcare – and also to show the beauty of Black people.

“I feel great seeing it going viral, I never expected it and it feels good that the message is out and it will challenge current systems.”

The medical student also mentions how not only do we need more images like this to showcase diversity in medicine but also more people willing to create them.

“We don’t only need more representation like this, we need more people willing to create representation like this, this would help make such images more accepted,” he says.