Reflecting on 2022 and Moving Forward in 2023

The dawn of the new year provides an opportunity to reflect on achievements from 2022 and set goals for the coming year. Most significant for the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health (JMWH) was the launch of our new Senior Editorial Team; we have now completed a full year together. After presenting our new team to the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) membership and readers of JMWH,1 we rolled up our sleeves and partnered with peer reviewers and authors to publish 6 issues of JMWH including 2 theme issues offering continuing education to midwives. We have also worked to increase inclusivity in our publication standards, editorial board, and authors. The Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health (JMWH) is the official journal of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Within a culture of inclusion and antiracism, JMWH advocates for health equity, access to quality care for all persons, and excellence in midwifery. Articles published in JMWH include new research and current knowledge across a broad range of clinical and interprofessional topics including perinatal care, sexual and reproductive health, gynecology, primary care, public health, health care policy, and global health. Implications for midwifery practice, policy, education, research, and workforce development in the United States are emphasized. International health articles with global perspectives and broad implications are welcomed. JMWH uses a double anonymous peer review process to ensure manuscripts meet the highest standards of scholarly work and welcomes submissions from midwives, collaborating health professionals, scientists, and others with an interest in the Journal's scope. In addition, the JMWH Editorial Leadership Team explored how to best identify differences among the editors, editorial board, peer reviewers, and authors to improve representation of the midwifery profession and those served by midwives. Concurrently, a strategy was implemented to collect data by ScholarOne, the online system for managing JMWH manuscript submission and review. Beginning in August 2022, all authors, peer reviewers, and editors are now asked to voluntarily identify their race, ethnicity, and gender when they next login to the system. This information is not visible to the editorial team and not accessible at any stage of the publication process. We will aggregate and analyze these anonymous data after a year to document a baseline and make plans going forward. The Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health (JMWH), as the official journal of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), is committed to an inclusive approach to publishing articles that elevate midwifery by advancing the health and well-being of diverse populations. We support the use of inclusive language that acknowledges diversity and differences among individuals. The JMWH approach to publication review aims to mitigate bias, be antiracist, and be responsive to the profession. In this inaugural Statement of Inclusivity, we commit to the following actionable goals: As 2022 wound down, we were thrilled to present readers with the November/December 2022 issue of JMWH highlighting midwifery-led care models. Those articles present models to improve care for persons of color, gender-diverse individuals, persons with potential mental health concerns, birthing people requiring transfer from community birth sites to the hospital, individuals needing earlier prenatal advice and consultation, postpartum individuals and their newborns, and models to teach ultrasound and group prenatal care models to midwives internationally.4 We hope you enjoy reading these articles and find inspiration for your practice, your teaching, and policy work to advance the profession and the needs of those for whom we provide care. The November/December 2022 issue also features a new Share with Women column with information about potential postpartum problems. Postpartum persons are encouraged to seek help, talk with their health care providers, and be confident asking for what they need.5 The Share with Women column transitions to Ask the Midwife6 in 2023. This change is made to be gender inclusive and reflect the question-and-answer format of the column. Existing Share with Women columns will retain that heading until they are updated in the future. Looking forward in 2023, the editors welcome your continued support and involvement in JMWH. We plan to enhance resources for peer reviewers and newer authors this year. If you would like to join our team of peer reviewers or are interested in submitting a manuscript, please contact [email protected].7, 8 Be sure to join us at the ACNM annual meeting in Orlando in May 2023 for a session on becoming an author with JMWH. We also plan to partner with our publisher for an ACNM member webinar, in advance of the session at the annual meeting, to introduce you to recent new authors who will share their experience. Look for theme issues this year on climate and environmental effects on perinatal and reproductive health and contemporary issues in contraception and abortion care. Please be in touch and let us know how we can better serve the midwifery community.