Rachel Bruns is a volunteer advocate for quality maternal health care in Iowa.

With the Iowa legislative session beginning January 13, it is time for a rundown of important maternal health policies that should become priorities for state lawmakers in 2025.

Since I am focusing on access to midwifery care, it is worth noting that in October 2024 the World Health Organization issued a new position paper on “Transitioning to Midwifery Models of Care.” That paper offers an international definition by describing the guiding principles of midwifery models of care and reviewing the advantages of adopting them. 

According to the World Health Organization’s position paper, 

Megan Day Suhr announced this week that she is running for Iowa House district 28 in 2012. A map of the swing district and background on Suhr are after the jump.

I’m late getting my calendar up this week. As always, please post a comment or send me an e-mail if you know of a public event worth mentioning here.

Various advocacy organizations continue to hold lobby days at the state capitol as the first “funnel” deadline for legislation approaches. The Department of Natural Resources is holding public meetings around the state this month to discuss air and water quality issues. Also, the sixth annual Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth takes place on February 24. Details on those events and more are after the jump.