As part of the Iowa Initiative's mission to reduce unintended pregnancies in Iowa among adult women through networking, outreach and education, we invited nationally-known health care thought-leaders to our state to provide an informed perspective on the issues at stake. This also gave Iowa's family planning professionals opportunities to experience, learn from, and be inspired by national experts as well as lessons they can learn from each other. Below are highlights of our past "On The Issues" Speaker Series, and our final "On The Results" conference.

For five years the Iowa Initiative explored how to reduce the high rate of unintended pregnancy among Iowa women ages 18-30. On September 27, as we prepared to wrap-up this extensive project, we were proud to host On the Results and share these important findings with you. 

• Event agenda and speaker bios
• Press release: Unintended Pregnancies, Abortions Decline in Iowa
• Executive Director Sally Pederson's remarks from 9/27/12 press conference
• Summary of key findings shared at morning session
• Video of morning session presentation by external evaluation team
• Summary of research intervention shared at afternoon session
• Video about the Iowa Initiative Research Program shared at afternoon session
• Slides from the presentation delivered by Dr. Wanda Barfield, Reproductive Health Division, CDC: "Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy in the United States: A Public Health Challenge"

The Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies is proud to host On the Issues – a series of stimulating and enlightening speeches delivered by distinguished national speakers. 

On Tuesday, October 25, 2011, we welcomed Ellen Goodman and a panel of community leaders in a conversation about the broad importance of access to affordable family planning services as an integral part of Iowa’s overall community health and wellness.
 
Ellen Goodman has spent most of her life chronicling social change and its impact on American life. As a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist she was one of the first women to open up the op-ed pages to women’s voices and became, according to Media Watch, the most widely syndicated progressive columnist in the country. She continues that from her observation post now as a writer, speaker and commentator. Ellen brings her trademark intellect, wit, and compassion to her speeches. We were honored to welcome her to Iowa for On the Issues. 

Click below to view Ms. Goodman's presentation:

Iowa Initiative Ellen Goodman Keynote from Tom Haggas on Vimeo.

At this event, we discussed topics related to health care reform and its impact on family planning providers.  We also engaged providers and community leaders in a dialogue about sustainability beyond the Initiative.  Our distinguished speakers for this event were:

• Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA)
  • Clare's presentation (PDF): Health Care Reform and the Future of Family Planning
• Leonardo Cuello, Attorney, National Health Law Program (NHeLP)
  • Leo's presentation (PDF): Medicaid and Family Planning
• Session on Sustainability -- Clare Coleman and Leo Cuello with conference attendees
  • Summary of discussion (PDF)

Several topics were discussed related to Iowa's Latino community and how we can better serve them in our work to reduce unintended pregnancies. Links to each presenter's presentation are provided below. Videos of the presentations can be viewed on the Iowa Initiative's YouTube channel. (Be sure you click on "see all" in the right-hand column to view all of the available videos.)

The Iowa Initiative, in partnership with Des Moines University Global Health and the Iowa Department of Public Health, proudly welcomed Director Barnes to Des Moines on July 22. You can learn more about the White House Domestic Policy Council at www.whitehouse.gov.  

Following a great morning, we had two other presentations. Dr. Mary Mincer Hansen and Jenell Stewart from Des Moines University provided an overview of the current global landscape for maternal and child mortality. You can view a copy of their presentation here. Finally, Julie McMahon with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) discussed Iowa's health reform and the IDPH's efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies.

Sarah is the CEO and co-founder of The National Campaign headquartered in Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit www.thenationalcampaign.org.

• Sarah Brown's Bio
• Sarah Brown's Slides -- "We Can Do Better: Raising the Profile of Unplanned Pregnancy"
• The Changing Twenties
• Briefly...Unplanned Pregnancy Among 20-Somethings:  The Full Story
• Findings from Focus Groups -- What 20-Somethings Are Saying About Pregnancy, Sex, and Childbearing

The Guttmacher Institute is the leading think tank on sexual and reproductive health issues in the United States and worldwide, headquartered in Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit www.guttmacher.org/.

• Dr. Finer's Bio
• Slides from Dr. Finer's Presentation
• Article by Dr. Finer