Radical Self-Love this Winter | PCHHC 2020
Receiving and Showing Love

We are kicking off this last issue of 2020 focusing on the 'power of radical self-love' as described by Sonya Renee Taylor in her book, The Body Is Not An Apology.

This year has forced many into a time of self-reflection and of facing hard truths about ourselves and how we are seen by others. This book is powerful, and the website has a wealth of resources. If you want a quick overview, Sonya has recorded a wonderful podcast interview with Brene Brown. Sonya Renee Taylor emphasizes that self-care can’t happen alone. Allowing others to serve and show their care to you allows you to more deeply care for yourself. She highlights the many ways our bodies can be 'othered' based on how we look and who we love. She talks about the connection between how we think about our bodies and oppression. Her current book is on backorder, but you can listen to it on Kindle. She has an updated version of the book set to launch early in 2021. She also has a tween/teen companion book called Celebrate Your Body.
Listening and Learning

Godmother of the reproductive rights movement, Loretta Ross, recently joined the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation's National Symposium and shared profound messages about Reproductive Justice, Human Rights, and Maternal Health. Ms. Ross centered all the rights that humans should have - cultural, political, health, reproductive, social, economic, environmental, developmental, and digital. She encourages us to push boundaries, stand up for human rights, and teach caring for others to our children.
You can read about her work, upcoming events, and the latest books and publications at LorettaRoss.com. She has a new book coming out in 2021 on how we can "Call IN the Calling OUT Culture." She also is offering an upcoming course, "Calling in the calling out culture" on Tuesdays, Jan 19-Feb 9, 2021 from 7-9pm EST. Loretta is committed to changing our national dialogue by inviting us to take a deep exploration into how we can most effectively impact change in our communities. She asks the hard questions: Is Calling Out culture allowing us to unite to fight the real challenges before us? Click to join!
Winter is coming! Staying mentally strong during the darker times.

#ShowYourLoveToday Ambassadors, Chemyeeka & Eilish host a discussion about managing Seasonal Affective Disorder, and offer tips to stay mentally well during the long, dark nights.
Winter: A Good Time for Reflection


Priya Parker's work on the Art of Gathering has taken on new meaning this year. Check out her podcast filled with wonderful suggestions for how to be Together Apart.

1619 from The New York Times is a thoughtful and essential listen as we begin to understand the truth about our country's history.

What podcasts are you listening to? We are especially looking for people that cover topics related to health and well-being. Email Suzanne so we can check it out!
Coming Soon! ShowYourLoveToday.com in Spanish

A gap that has challenged the women's wellness industry is linguistic inclusiveness. It is something our team has been determined to address and continue to work towards. We are thrilled to share that the first national preconception health resource for consumers has been translated and culturally adapted to Spanish. We are focusing on the last step - adapting the ShowYourLoveToday campaign name and logo for our Spanish sister site. Stay tuned for details! The communications toolkit will be made available here.
Japan /U.S. Preconception Web Summit

PCHHC went global in December with the Japan-US Summit on Preconception Health. Hosted by the Japanese National Center for Child Health and Development on December 12th, the virtual summit included presentations from leaders in Japan and time for discussion. There were more than 150 attendees for this event. Sarah presented in English and had real-time translations throughout. We plan to continue to work with and learn from each other! Click here or below to view the translated video recording.
Featured Resources

This is a great resource for consumers that covers a range of preconception health topics, from nutrition and vitamins to family history and more.

Black Women's Health Imperative: New Tech for Diabetes Support
Black Women's Health Imperative is taking on prediabetes - a condition that affects 1 in 3 Americans. BWHI launched a campaign with the CYL2 App with guidance about Type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions. Per the CDC, more than 88% of people who have prediabetes don’t even know they have it. Here is an online risk test to help you identify possible symptoms. Click to view the app and learn more.
Featured Research

Health risks and outcomes that disproportionately affect women during the Covid-19 pandemic: A review, Social Science Medicine describes how health risks may be worsened during COVID-19 based on gender. Problems in health, social, and economic systems during and in the aftermath of Covid-19 must be addressed.


These articles are timely in considering the impacts of COVID-19 on health and rights

Women at the intersection of disability and minoritized race or ethnicity may be at especially high risk of adverse outcomes. Targeted efforts are needed to improve the health of women of reproductive age in these doubly marginalized populations. Check out this article from Women's Health Issues:

Health Affairs published an important paper on the connection of access to care and better outcomes -

Medscape also published an important piece -

Sign up for bi-weekly emails that include abstracts of publications from around the world on women's health and well-being, email LIST@cdc.gov, enter SUBSCRIBE - CDC in the email Subject.
January is Birth Defects Prevention Month

Join us for a Tweet chat with the March of Dimes and partners on Jan. 26, 2021 from 2-3pm ET using hashtag #Best4YouBest4Baby for a discussion about reducing the risk of birth defects and strategies for advance health.
ABOUT HRSA IM CoIIN PRECONCEPTION PROJECT: This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UF3MC31239-Providing Support For The Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) To Reduce Infant Mortality. The grant amount totals $1,494,993. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.