Contribute to MIDIRS Midwifery Digest by writing for us
Would you like to write for MIDIRS Midwifery Digest?
MIDIRS is here to allow all midwives, student midwives, Maternity Support Workers (MSWs) or any health professional caring for women, babies and their families during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, worldwide, to share their knowledge and experiences to improve practice and outcomes. We are dedicated to helping you learn, grow and share from the start of your midwifery training all the way through your career.
We welcome original contributions from new, aspiring, or established writers, and our author guidelines will tell you everything you need to know about submitting your work to us.
Before you submit an article, please read the guidelines carefully. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept or review articles that do not adhere to the guidelines.
The Editor reserves the right to revise material or to return it to the author for amendments before accepting it for publication. We also reserve the right to amend material during production in accordance with house style and the demands of space and layout. Copyright of original articles published in MIDIRS belongs to MIDIRS.
For informal inquiries, questions or support with your submission please contact the MIDIRS Editor: Sara Webb at: sara.webb@rcm.org.uk.
Find out more about writing original articles for MIDIRS Midwifery Digest below:
Listen to our very first podcast episode on writing for publication here. Read the transcript here.
A journal article should be written in a different style from that of an academic essay. Aim for a clear, readable and accessible style. If this is the first time you have submitted an article to a journal it may help to ask a colleague or tutor to read it.
As you write, ask yourself:
- Is my article relevant to midwives, student midwives, Maternity Support Workers (MSWs) or any health professional caring for women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period?
- Does my article say something new?
- What question(s) am I trying to answer?
- Have I answered the question(s) accurately?
- Have I made clear what is personal opinion and what is evidence/research-based fact?
- Does the article flow in a logical progression?
- Could I improve it by rewriting or moving certain paragraphs?
- Have I helped the reader through the article with regular (short) subheadings?
- Is my language and level of argument appropriate for the broad readership?
- Are all the references complete and correct?
Please check your writing carefully for accuracy and ambiguity. A final edit, prior to submission, is essential to check spelling and remove any unnecessary words or phrases. You may find it helpful to look at past issues of MIDIRS to get an idea of the journal’s overall style and focus. The editorial team reserves the right to edit any article. Your article will be sent to you to check in its final form shortly before publication.
For informal inquiries, questions or support with your submission please contact the MIDIRS Editor: Sara Webb at sara.webb@rcm.org.uk.
Advancing Clinical Practice - (Reflective Practice/ Work experience / Service evaluation / Clinical Governance & Safety)
We welcome contributions about clinical practice, such as reflection on practice, personal experiences, service evaluation and clinical governance/safety. We are particularly interested in current issues, new developments, controversial topics, and would like articles that share experiences to help others advance their practice and/or challenge clinical practice.
Guidelines - Advancing Clinical Practice
• Maximum of 2500 words including in-text references and the reference list.
• 100-word summary of the article, positioned at the start of the paper.
• Statement of permissions obtained if appropriate
• Reference list positioned at the end – maximum of 20 references.
• Maximum of three tables/illustrations
Research – Primary (audits / RCTs / Cohort studies) or Secondary (Literature reviews / Systematic reviews / Modified systematic reviews)
We welcome submissions on primary and secondary research. We are keen to encourage submissions from any research undertaken as part of a higher education course, such as a dissertation or essay. Occasionally, the larger pieces of work may need to be split into two related papers.
Research articles are a maximum 3500 words including in-text references, tables/figures and the reference list.
Guideline - Primary Research (audits / RCTs / Cohort studies)
• Abstract - 350 word maximum
o Objective
o Methods
o Results
o Conclusion
• Main paper
o Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
o Methods
A brief but clear outline of the methodology, making clear the study setting, the sample, the hypothesis (where relevant) and the reason for the chosen method. Please provide information of ethical approvals granted and particular ethical considerations in your study. Please provide details of funding, if appropriate.
o Results
Results should be clear and concise. Results/findings consistent with your chosen methodology. Tables and graphs may be used – maximum of three in total.
o Discussion
Relate your findings to focus their relevance to midwifery practice. Also include a brief statement of limitations of the research, and implications for practice and future research.
o Conclusion
A concise conclusion to include implications for future practice/research.
• Statement of permissions obtained if appropriate.
• Reference list - maximum of 25 references.
Guideline - Secondary Research (Literature reviews / Systematic reviews / Modified systematic reviews)
• Abstract - 350 word maximum
o Objective
o Methods
o Results
o Conclusion
• Main paper
o Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
o Methods
A brief but clear outline of the methodology, to include search strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria, study selection, quality appraisal, reflexivity (if applicable), data extraction and analysis methods. Please provide details of funding, if appropriate.
o Results/Findings
Results should be clear and consistent with your chosen methodology. Tables and graphs may be used – maximum of three in total.
o Discussion
Relate your findings to focus their relevance to midwifery practice. Also include a brief statement of limitations of the research, and implications for practice and future research.
o Conclusion
A concise conclusion to include implications for future practice/research.
• Statement of permissions obtained if appropriate.
• Reference list - maximum of 25 references.
Viewpoint/Discussion pieces
We welcome shorter reflective pieces that will encourage reflection and discussion. These articles may be clinical, descriptive, narrative or reflective pieces. We are keen for pieces that look at historical practices and experiences and how they relate to current services/guidelines, or for comparison of clinical practices across countries.
Viewpoint/Discussion pieces are a maximum of 1000 words including in-text references and the reference list.
For inclusion with your submission:
• 100-word summary of the article, positioned at the start of the paper.
• Main body of article. Tables/illustrations can be included - maximum of three tables/illustrations in total
• Statement of permissions obtained if appropriate.
• Reference list - maximum of 25 references.
De-mystifying Research!
To encourage advancement, understanding and adoption of research into daily midwifery practice, MIDIRS welcome pieces that discuss and critique a particular published piece of research. These will help the reader gain a greater understanding of how to critique research, while also gaining knowledge about the specific research study being discussed.
We also request submission of ‘Research guides’ that explain research and statistic methodologies in an easy to understand format. These can be published in a series or as a one off piece.
Word count for these types of articles will be dependent on the content/topic.
Please contact MIDIRS Editor, Sara Webb to discuss if you are interested in publishing such work: sara.webb@rcm.org.uk.
Guideline/Report reviews
We encourage reviews of local, national and international guidelines/reports that have implications directly or indirectly for midwives. Such commentaries will help our readers to understand what reports mean for midwifery practice and to place report recommendations into context.
Word count for these types of articles will be dependent on the content/topic.
Please contact MIDIRS Editor, Sara Webb to discuss if you are interested in publishing such work: sara.webb@rcm.org.uk.
Author information: you will need to provide the following information:
Submitting Author
• Preferred title
• Name
• Role
• Workplace
• Contact author email(This is usually the submitting author)
• Twitter or Instagram handle (if applicable).
Co-Author(s)
• Preferred title
• Name
• Role
• Workplace
Main body article as described in the types of article, adhering to the following house style:
• Font and formatting:
o Use Arial font, size 12.
o Use 1.5 line spacing.
o Headings and sub-headings in bold, further sub-headings in italic.
o If you have included boxes of writing (possibly as extras or illustrative comments), please ensure these appear as text within the article (with borders, if you wish) rather than as separate items; this is to ensure they are easily accessible for our editorial team, but also so that the text is included in the word count.
o When using abbreviations or acronyms in the text, always show the term or the name of the organisation in full the first time it is used in the text. For example: lower segment caesarean section (LSCS); National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Thereafter, just use the abbreviation, ‘LSCS’, ‘NICE’ etc.
• References:
o The chosen style for citing references is Harvard. Using this style, authors are named in the text with the publication year of their work shown in brackets after their name(s).
o All references, regardless of the format they take, (whether they are journal articles, books, book chapters etc) should be listed alphabetically at the end of your paper.
o Use authors’ initials as they appear in the article/publication but do not leave spaces between them. For foreign names, refer to Medline for the correct citation style.
o Do not use commas between author names and initials in the reference list:
Duff E (2003) not Duff, E (2003).
o When referencing papers with different number of authors:
When referencing papers with different number of authors:
One author:
In the text: In a study by Duff (2003) it was concluded that…
In the reference list: Duff E (2003). Millennium development goals: where are the goalkeepers? MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 13(3):319-20.
Two authors:
In the text: When citing two authors, names should be linked by “&”: In a study by Hey & Hurst (2003) it was concluded that…
In the reference list: Hey M, Hurst K (2003). Antenatal screening: why do women refuse? RCM Midwives Journal 6(5):216-20.
Three authors or more:
In the text: Show the name of the first author only, and follow this by the phrase ‘et al’. Thompson et al (1997) conclude that…
In the reference list: All the authors names are included in the reference list.
- The source (book, journal) should be shown in italics.
- Journal titles should be shown in full, eg Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.
• Tables and graphs
A maximum of three tables and/or graphs are allowed for all types of article. Each one is equivalent to 200 words so please remember this and include these into your total word count: eg, One table or graph = 250 words, one table and one graph/ two tables = 500 words, etc.
• Images
We welcome the addition of illustrations as they enhance articles. Please ensure that pictures, photos, diagrams, etc. are sent as VERY HIGH RESOLUTION jpegs or pdf attachments in addition to showing their placement in the article. Please clearly indicate in the text where the images are to be placed. Please ensure that the APPROPRIATE PERMISSIONS ARE OBTAINED and these are clearly stated next to the image.
• Illustrations
Please provide good quality photographs (high res jpegs at a size of 1MB), diagrams or illustrations to go with your article. If you want to use or adapt illustrations from another source, it is your responsibility to obtain written permission to reproduce the material and to credit it accordingly. Photographs need the permission of both the photographer and all subjects within the pictures. Please submit all photos, diagrams and other illustrations as high res jpegs or pdfs separately, clearly highlighting where in the article it should go.
Confidentiality
Please be aware of issues of confidentiality. You may require permission from individuals/institutions discussed in your article. We reserve the right to anonymise where appropriate before publication.
Copyright
All material is accepted for publication as an original article on the understanding that it has not been published before and is not due for publication elsewhere. The copyright of all material accepted for publication lies with the Publisher, MIDIRS. Whilst welcoming all contributions MIDIRS does not offer payment for unsolicited articles.
Promotion of products or services
We cannot include references to private companies, products or services. If you are writing as owner or employee of a company, brand names etc. will be changed to be more generic. Where a further resources section is included, this is designed to provide sources of information to the reader, not to list or promote products, companies or even particular books. Charities can appear, at our discretion, within the further resources, but only alongside a variety of alternatives, usually based in the NHS or equivalent.
We recently supported the Bangladesh Midwifery Society on how to write for an academic publication.
Listen to the our very first podcast episode on writing for publication here.
In order for you to share your publication please see below:
1. Academic institute repository
MIDIRS publications can be deposited in your academic library repository after a three-month embargo period from the date of publication. Your institute librarian can email us to request this deposit: midirs.helpdesk@rcm.org.uk
2. Personal/organisational sharing
Immediate sharing – front page
Upload an image of the front page of your article on a website/social media together with a link to the MIDIRS Midwifery Digest page on our website.
Three-month embargo – full article
If you wish to share the full article this is subject to a three-month embargo from the date of publication. Please attach the following link statement: MIDIRS retains the copyright of this article
Download the copyright information about sharing your MIDIRS Digest article.