Prior to our trip I was exhausted and burned out, mostly from frustration about our country's tangled systems, but I’m now realizing there was something more underneath it all. My pattern is to try and pull lessons out of experiences when I start to feel overwhelmed, so here is what I've pulled out during my break away from Iowa.

Everyone deserves to have a healthy pregnancy free of anxiety and worry.  However, many pregnant women worry about where their next meal will come from, how they will pay the rent, and if they will truly be able to provide for their unborn child. Here are five areas where pregnant women living in poverty often need support to have a safe pregnancy and a healthy baby. 

As we have pushed for change in a new environment—an environment that continues to change by the moment—we have learned several lessons about how we do our work going forward. Here are my takeaways so far.

While many of us looked to systems we thought could guide us through COVID-19, we discovered that there were no systems where we expected to find them. What we are calling “system failure” is really system “expectation” failure.  Advocates often work to shift systems to have the greatest impact on the most people, but we must consider whether there is a system to change in the first place and whether a system can create the change we’re seeking. Here are questions we should be asking.

In this Des Moines Register op-ed, HealthConnect Fellow Aubrey Alvarez talks about the role we all play in bridging the gap between the food we have available in our community and those who need it.

In this Des Moines Register op-ed, HealthConnect Fellow Lina Tucker Reinders talks about how COVID-19 is a perfect storm of inequities and what we need to consider as we respond.