Fireside Midwifery

The UR Midwifery Group and Cooper Lecture Series Present "Fireside Midwifery: An Evening with Drs Nikia Grayson & Karen Sheffield-Abdullah"

Join us for an intimate evening of connection & community as we reflect on reproductive justice, Black perinatal health, and the power of collective care at the Olmsted Lodge on October 8th 2025 in celebration of Midwifery Week and the Annual Elizabeth Cooper Lecture Series.

Limited space available. Pre-registration (free) required.

This event features the guest lecturers for the 2025 RGH City-Wide OBGYN Grand Rounds (Dr. Karen Sheffield-Abdullah PhD, MSN, CNM, FACNM) AND the Elizabeth Cooper Lecture Series and URMC's City-Wide OBGYN Grand Rounds (Dr Nikia Grayson DNO, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM).

RGH Grand Rounds are hosted earlier in the day (10/8/25 @730) in the RGH Weiner Conference Room.

URMC Grand Rounds are hosted the following day (10/9/25 @ 0730) in the Class of '62 Auditorium at URMC.

Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C (she/her/hers) is a Reproductive Justice informed public health activist, anthropologist and family nurse-midwife who has devoted her life to serving and empowering people in underserved communities.

Nikia graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in communications and public health respectively, from University of Memphis with a master’s in medical anthropology and from the University of Tennessee with a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nurse practice. She completed her post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.

Nikia has more than 15 years experience working in public health and nursing, with her more recent work focusing on reproductive rights and justice, birth justice, and midwifery. Nikia has a deep love for midwifery and growing the workforce of midwives and birth workers of colors in the south. She is passionate about being a disruptor to the current healthcare system and creating new models of care that integrate midwifery and center Black and brown communities. She works daily to ensure all persons have the rights and means to make decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health.

Nikia is the Chief Clinical Officer at CHOICES Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, where they have opened the first non-profit comprehensive reproductive health care center in the country and the first birth center in the city. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for SisterReach, the only Reproductive Justice organization in Tennessee.

Some of Nikia’s awards and honors include the Aspen Fellow, Rockwood Leadership Fellow, Duke Johnson and Johnson Nurse Leaders Fellow, SisterReach Bisola Marignay Award, UTHSC Chancellor’s Scholarship Award, Core Align Generative Fellow, and many more recognitions.

https://www.iamnikiagrayson.com/

Dr. Karen Sheffield-Abdullah is a researcher, assistant professor, mindfulness coach,

and thought leader specializing in health inequities within maternal morbidity and

mortality, Black perinatal mental health, and women’s reproductive health. Her work is

centered on addressing the disparities faced by Black birthing people, particularly

through holistic approaches such as mindfulness-based stress reduction to alleviate

stress and psychological distress in underserved communities. Dr. Sheffield-Abdullah's

research is guided by the Superwoman Schema, a conceptual framework developed by

Dr. Cheryl Woods Giscombe. This framework allows her to explore the unique stress

and anxiety experiences of Black birthing individuals and their impact on pregnancy

outcomes. She is deeply committed to destigmatizing mental health within the Black

community and envisions a world where Black women are seen, heard, and valued. Her

research has been published in prestigious journals such as Health Equity, Health

Affairs, the Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing, the Journal of Holistic Nursing,

and Epigenetics. She has also been a vocal advocate for improving patient-provider

communication on perinatal mental health and shared decision-making. Dr.

Sheffield-Abdullah is actively involved in efforts to achieve health equity, serving on the

North Carolina Maternal Mortality Review Committee and advising organizations like the

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the CDC. Her work has been

recognized nationally and internationally, with features in The New York Times, Politico,

and NPR’s All Things Considered. Academically, Dr. Sheffield-Abdullah holds a

Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics and Mathematics from Connecticut College, a

Master of Science in Nursing with a specialty in Nurse-Midwifery from Yale University

School of Nursing, and a PhD in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill School of Nursing. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of

North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys

traveling, spending time with her family, and listening to neo-soul while sipping ginger

tea.

https://www.beingdrkaren.com/

Host or Publisher University of Rochester Midwifery Group