Records, 1971 – 2016. 2 linear feet. Central Iowa Family Planning (CIFP) provided needs-based medical care and sex education to Marshalltown and Grinnell, Iowa, and the surrounding rural areas, serving a total of six counties. The records focus on CIFP’s sex education programs and include examples of birth control such as cervical caps, diaphragms, and spermicide. The newspaper clippings and letters to the editor in the publicity series provide a window into Iowans’ opinions on topics such as abortion, AIDS prevention as a part of sex education, and the HPV vaccine.

Records, 1979 – 2000. 4.5 linear feet. The Des Moines BirthPlace provided out-of-hospital childbirth and nurse-midwifery services including prenatal and postpartum care. The records are made up largely of administrative and legal documents, showing the breadth of services as well as the difficulty of maintaining an alternative to hospital births in the state of Iowa. The photographs series has images of some of the 274 babies born at the center during its eight years of operation.

Records, 1971 – 2013. 24 linear feet. A feminist health clinic, the Emma Goldman Clinic opened in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1973 shortly after Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide. The clinic provided outpatient abortions, gynecological care, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The records document EGC’s administrative organization as well as ongoing fundraising work. They include advertising, newspaper articles, event flyers and many publications on women’s health topics, some published by EGC. Besides documenting the clinic’s programs, series on the pro-choice and anti-abortion movements include pamphlets and evidence of activism on both sides of the abortion debate.

Records, (1952 – 2002). 5.5 linear feet. The Iowa League for Nursing (ILN) formed in 1952 out of several existing professional nursing organizations. It aimed to meet Iowan’s healthcare needs through promotion of nursing education and practice. The ILN’s records begin in 1952 and do not include materials from earlier organizations. They do house decades of newsletters, annual meeting programs, and handouts from workshops aimed at nurses. There are smaller sections on the Eastern Iowa League for Nursing sub-group, and files related to other regional groups such as the Iowa Association of Nursing Students.

Records (1929 – 1998). 5 linear feet. The Iowa Medical Society Auxiliary, today called the Iowa Medical Society Alliance, was originally founded by and for wives of Iowa Medical Society members. Its members supported the Society through education, advocacy, volunteer work, and fundraising activities. The organization’s records include bound copies of newsletters, and annual meeting records. However, the most detailed accounting of its activities can be found in several scrapbooks housed in the Scrapbooks series of the collection.

Records, (1904 – 1989). 83 linear feet. The Iowa Nurse’s Association (INA), a state branch of the American Nurses Association, advocated for the nursing profession and legal standards for nursing education and practice. The records provide a holistic look at the organization, spanning administrative records, conferences and continuing education activities, and official publications. They also document related groups such as the Student Nurses Association. Additionally, the records also encompass several committees within the INA including the Economic Security of the INA which focused on nurses working conditions.

Records, (1922 – 2000). 2 linear feet. The Iowa Nurses Association, Fifth District, was one of ten districts within the Iowa Nurses Association, itself a branch of the national American Nurses Association. The fifth district comprised of several counties in east central Iowa and included the cities of Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. The records include routine correspondence, meeting minutes, financial records, and operations manuals for the group. There are also newsletters covering the 1960s to the 1990s and documentation and photographs of programs hosted by the district.

Records, 1970 – 1979. 5 linear inches. Barbara Madden-Bittle founded the Iowans for Medical Control of Abortion (IMCA) in 1970 with fellow Des Moines homemakers. The group first advocated for legal abortion in Iowa and then after Roe v. Wade, opposed laws that would limit access to the procedure. Madden-Bittle’s papers dedicate five folders to the IMCA that contain newsletters, newspaper clippings, and information on legislation the group supported or opposed.

Papers, 1963 – 2001. 20.5 linear feet. Patricia Hillard of Waverly, Iowa, became involved with La Leche League International (LLLI) in 1970. She directed the Western U.S. Division of LLLI from 1988 to 1992. The voluminous papers meticulously document the administration and activities of Hillard’s division during the 1980s and 1990s. The papers chronicle newsletters from several states, several international conferences, and publications and workshops on breastfeeding.

Records, 1962 – 2005. 5 linear feet. Community health was one of several priorities for the Muscatine Migrant Committee, an organization dedicated to assisting largely Spanish-speaking seasonal agricultural laborers in Muscatine County, Iowa. The Health series of the collection encompasses administrative documents, correspondence, and other ephemera on topics such as natural family planning, food and nutrition grants, and the foundation of the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics’ Spanish language interpreter program. The Correspondence folder mostly concerns a legal inquiry into whether land owners could restrict migrants from receiving visitors, such as health workers, while they lived in labor camps.

Records, 1990 – 2001. 12.25 linear inches. The activities of the Iowa chapter of NARAL are summarized by the contents of four binders in the collection. The first two aggregate official statements, newsletters, newspaper clippings, letters to members and politicians, and photographs of volunteers and events. These include references to several landmark cases in the fight over abortion rights, as well as the group’s involvement with the 1992 March for Women’s Lives. Two more binders dedicated to administration house documents like by-laws, annual plans, committee and staff reports, and financial records.

Records, 1988 – 1991. 5 linear inches. The Reproductive Rights Coalition of Iowa City was formed in response to Operation Rescue’s attempt to shut down a local abortion clinic. The records include minutes, newsletters, and photographs of local rallies. They also provide a snapshot in time of the abortion debate nationally through newspaper clippings, lists of proposed anti-abortion legislation in several states, and publications from national pro-choice organizations such as the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL.)

Records (1887 – 2005). 5.75 linear feet. The University of Iowa housed a School of Nursing from 1896 to 1947 and a College of Nursing from 1948 to the present day. Both iterations of the institution are covered in the College of Nursing records. The records include a smattering of historical documents such as commencements and brochures for the program over several decades. Photographs of nursing students in and outside of class and examples of nursing equipment and uniforms are also highlights of the collection.

Records (1913 – 2005). 20.25 linear feet. The University of Iowa’s Dental Hygiene program operated from 1949 to 1995, catering mostly to female students. The collection houses intriguing artifacts such as an instructional skull and carved wax teeth, but most of the records are tied to the day-to-day operations of the department. In addition to extensive administrative records, highlights of the collection include files from the program’s community health initiative, in which dental hygiene students served Iowans outside the University setting, and several scrapbooks documenting student life.

Papers, 1921 – 2005. 4 linear inches. The Women’s Community Health Center was affiliated with a national network of Feminist Women’s Health Centers and operated in Ames, Iowa from 1975 to 1978. It makes up one series of activist and scholar Carol Hodne’s papers. The Center provided abortions, pap smears, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and education on a variety of women’s health topics. The records of the Center include primary sources from the first National Women-Controlled Health Projects Conference in 1975, forms and protocols for Center procedures such as abortion counseling, and a series of newsletters.