Shafia Monroe’s audiences encompass many diverse organizations, academic institutions, and individuals, including:
- Rikki Lake
- Albina Rotary Club
- Oregon Health and Science University
- San Francisco Healthy Birth Initiative
- ACNM Midwives of Color Association
- Midwives Alliance of North America
- Midwifery Today Conference
- Portland State University
- Universite De Libre in Colombia (South America)
- The Birth Congress—Water Birth International
- High Schools
- National Conferences and many more
2013 Recipient: Don’t Lose This Dream Award
Awards
Shafia Monroe’s work as a midwife, historian, and public health professional — her consistent mission of reducing infant and maternal mortality — has earned her numerous awards:
- Certificate of Appreciation To the Art of Midwifery and Serving Her Community
National Black Midwives Alliance, 2022 - Lifetime Achievement Award
Midwives Alliance of North America, 2019 - Dr. Hildrus A. Poindexter Award
Black Caucus of Health Workers, American Public Health Association, 2019 - Women of Excellence Health & Wellness Award
Portland Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., 2019 - Unsung Hero Award
SISTAS, LLC, 20018 - Lifetime Achievement Award
Maternal-Child Health Champion Awards Ceremony, Human Rights in Childbirth US Summit, 2016 - Lifetime Achievement Service Award for Community Health
We are Health Movement, OR, 2014 - Don’t Lose This Dream Award Award
Keeping the Dream LLC, 2013 - Midwife Hero Award
Midwives of Color Committee—ACNM, 2012 - Harriet Tubman Award
Birthing Project USA, 2012 - Infant Advocacy Angel Award
The Red Dress Society, 2011 - Achievement Award
4th Annual Muslim Women’s Conference, 2008 - Women Making History
Mural, Portland, OR, 2007 - Recognition for Preserving the Legacy of Midwifery
National Institute of Health (NIH), 2007 - Unsung Hero Award
Boston, Massachusetts, 1989
News & Media
- People Who Are Making Health Care More Fair: Four innovators are finding new solutions to the problem of injustice, Scientific American, June 1, 2022, written by Julia Holtz
- Battling Over Birth: Black Women and the Maternal Care Crisis, Authors: Julia Chinyera Oparah, Helen Arega, Danita Hudson, Linda Jones, Talita Oseguera, Praeclarus Press, 2017
- Improving Birth Outcomes: A New Journey for a Portland Entrepreneur by Dana Lynn Barbar, The Portland Observer, November 28, 2017. Link to online article.
- How Shafia M. Monroe Became the Queen Mother of a Midwifery Movement by Erickka Sy Savané, July 29, 2016.
- Regulating Birth — Special Edition: Oregon Historical Quarterly, Summer 2015.
- Midwifery’s Diversity Problem Hits Spotlight by Kimberley Allers, Seals, We News, 2015. Link to online article.
- How I Did It: Midwife and CEO Shafia Monroe by Satya Nelms, Mater Mea, 2014. Link to online article.
- Birthing, Blackness, and the Body: Black Midwives and Experiential Continuities of Institutional Racism by Keisha La’Nesha Goode; Graduate Center, City University of New York, 2014. Link to PDF, 215 pages.
- The Big Book of Soul: The Ultimate Guide to the African American Spirit, author Stephanie Rose Bird, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2010
- Bringin’ in Da Spirit, a documentary by Rhonda L. Haynes, narrated by Phylicia Rashad, 60 minutes, 2003
- Sisters on a Journey: Portrait of American Midwives, author Penfield Chester, Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 1997
- Granny Midwives and Black Women Writers, author Valerie Lee, Publisher: Routledge, 1996
- Wings of Gauze: Women of Color and the Experience of Health and Wellness, edited by Barbara Bair and Susan E. Cayleff, Wayne State University Press, 1993
- Midwives Fight AMA to Provide Black Maternal Care by Malena Amusa, We News, 2008. Link to online article.
- Community-Based Community-Oriented Maternity Care by Carol Sakala, MSPH, Pew Health Policy Fellow, Health Policy Institute, © 1989 American Journal of Public Health. Link to PDF, 2 pages.
Publications
- Monroe, Shafia (January 2020), Perinatal Disparities and Solutions, North Carolina Medical Journal
- Monroe, S.M. et, al. (2016). Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy, and Childbirth.
- Monroe, S.M. (2013). “Presidential Address,” Black Midwives and Healers Review. Link to PDF, 31 pages.
- Monroe, SM. (2011). “Reclaiming Childbirth,” Sojourners Magazine. Link to online article.
- Monroe, S.M. et, al. (2010). “The Child is The Gem,” Into These Hands, Wisdom From Midwives.
- Monroe, S. M. (2008). “Midwives Honor the Sexuality of Pregnancy and Birth,” Midwifery Today.
- Monroe, S. M., & Dula, A. (1990). “Lay Midwifery, Just Ain’t Fair: The Ethics of Health Care for African Americans.”
Research Experience
Vedam Birthplace Lab
UBC Faculty of Medicine, British Columbia
2014 – Present
“Giving Voice to Mothers” — a national research study to measure the birth experience of US women who birthed in the past five years. The goal is to collect data from a broad spectrum of women to provide recommendations for improving women’s birth experiences and improving birth outcomes in vulnerable populations. Serves as a committee member, aided in creating questions, marketing the survey, and survey evaluation.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Oregon & SW Washington Affiliate, OR
Position: Intern Program Evaluator, 2012
Led the evaluation project for measuring the program intervention level for breast self-awareness and mammogram use. Designed quantitative and qualitative analysis tools to measure the program’s effectiveness, coded the education materials for health literacy levels, and used focus groups to measure the cultural competency of the program. Summarized the project outcomes and presented the findings with recommendations to the education committee and the CEO.
Multnomah County Women, Infant, and Children (WIC)
2002 – 2016
Qualitative analysis to investigate barriers to breastfeeding duration rates for African American babies.