Guidelines for Contributing Authors

Submitting a Manuscript

The Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health accepts only original material that is not under consideration by any other publications. Articles should be word-processed and transmitted electronically to the Editor.

The Editor reserves the right to edit manuscripts for length, clarity, and conformity with the journal's style. The author should retain his/her copy. American spelling should be used. The title page should be submitted with the article and include five elements: title, running head, author byline, institutional affiliation and author note (contact information). The 100-word abstract should be placed on the title page as well. (See further guidelines for submitting a manuscript in the current APA Publication Manual (2009), specifically, "Author Responsibilities," pp. 228-231).

The journal is interested in publishing theoretical and practical articles utilizing data gained from clinical work, experimental research, case studies, and self-report. Among the areas of special interest are:

• Psychological factors that affect conception, pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the post-partum period;


• The reciprocal mechanisms of interaction between the pregnant mother and her unborn and sentient child and the mother and her newborn;


• The influence of the family, society, and the environment on the pregnant mother and her unborn child;


• Evidence-based measures that will improve the emotional well-being of mothers, fathers, and newborns;


• The psychological effects of medical technology during conception, pregnancy, labor, and delivery on all parties concerned;


• Methods of prevention and intervention/resolution of prenatal and perinatal traumas with children and adults;


• Interfaces between prenatal and perinatal psychology and medicine, genetics, developmental psychology, anthropology, ethics and the law.

Illustrations, Figures and Tables

All illustrations and tables should be included separately from the manuscript (at the end of the references or in a separate file) and should be clearly identified in Arabic numerals, showing which is the top of the illustration if this is not obvious. Legends for illustrations, which should be referred to as "Figures" should also be submitted separately. Tables must supplement the text without duplicating it. They should include an appropriate title.

Lettering within an illustration, figure or table should be no smaller than 8 points and no larger than 14 points, and prepared at a resolution sufficient to produce a high-quality image, that is, using computer-generated, professional-level graphic software.

Illustrations should either be black-and-white glossy photographs or India ink drawings. Unless previously agreed with the Editor, color illustrations can be published only at the author's expense.

APA Style

Formatting and referencing must follow APA style. References should be limited to work cited in the article, rather than being a bibliography of the topic.

A typical issue of the journal is about 80 pages and a typical paper is between 15 and 25 pages in length, measured by the computer word count divided by 400. A 12-point New Times Roman font is preferred, with margins of one inch all around.

When submitting a floppy disk, label the disk with your last name, computer operating system, the word processing software and its vintage, and an abbreviated article title and date.

American Psychological Association (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author

Guidelines for Reviewers

Our mission is to draw attention to new books and videos that focus mainly (not tangentially) on psychological or health issues of the prenatal or perinatal periods of human development, from conception through the first year of life. Specifically, we want to present new material that addresses the psychology (and the way psychology interacts with physicality) of very-early parenting, prenatal bonding and communication, pregnancy, childbirth, birth complications, birth losses and grief, adoption, the primal origins of health or of violence, the healing of birth trauma, and contrasting psychological experiences of birth in other cultures.

Your review should focus on how the work contributes to an understanding of: psychology and health in the pre- and perinatal period, (and/or) the influence of parents and caregivers on babies, (and/or) healing at later ages of injuries acquired during the pre- and perinatal period.

Occasionally, we also review books that we think provide important new perspectives on human development that have major implications for pre- and perinatal psychology and health.

As a reviewer you play an indispensable part in drawing attention to recently published works and helping to circulate them in the world. Your review may touch:

• About 500 readers of the Journal;


• Students and scholars in libraries around the world subscribing to the Journal and using psychology search engines and databases like PsycINFO;


• As many as 2,000 interested persons reached by the printed and online Newsletter; and currently


• Over 1,300 computer sessions per day to www.birthpsychology.com from over 100 countries.

Reviews are generally 600 to 1,000 words (between one and two pages of single-spaced text). Under "Tools," your word processing program can probably provide you with a word count.

For books, please provide: Title, Author's Name, Date of Publication, City and Publisher, Number of pages, and ISBN number (accuracy essential) from the copyright page.

For videos, please provide: Title, Producer or Author, Date of Copyright, Length of Program in Minutes, Distributor or Contact Info (phone, email or website).

We pattern our style on rules in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) If any bibliographic notations are necessary in the review, APA rules call for a brief citation in parentheses in the text itself ("Smith, 1998" - or, if three or more authors, "Smith et al, 1998") and a full note at the end under References. Please run your spell-checker before sending, and provide your name, highest degree, and your city and state. We print the name, highest degree, and location of the reviewer. Arrangement for reviews may be made by contacting the Review Editor listed above.