AJOG American Journal Of Obstetrics & Gynecology

American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

Queries about submission requirements may be addressed to either of the managing editors: Sandra Perrine • [email protected] Donna L. Stroud • [email protected] 965 W. Hackberry Ct., Chandler, AZ 85248 5228 Bressler Dr., Hilliard, OH 43026 Phone 480-812-9261 • Fax 480-812-9409 Phone 614-527-3820 • Fax 614-527-3821

AUTHOR: Please save this form to your computer, complete it as you prepare your submission, and upload the completed file upon submission. A completed Manuscript Submission Checklist and a completed Statement of Authorship form must accompany the submission. For detailed instructions, please see the Information for Authors. Manuscript title: Corresponding author:

EDITORIAL POLICIES

The manuscript, including all tables, figures, submission Studies that include patients, patient records, or checklist, statement of authorship, and other required volunteers require ethics committee approval and items, is being submitted online at informed consent; both are documented in the paper. www.ees.elsevier.com/ajog/. The author(s) agree to supply documentation of

The author(s) warrant(s) that this submission is not Institutional Review Board approval and/or patient currently under review by another journal. consent upon request. All authors have consulted and are in compliance with TRIAL/RESEARCH TYPE (CHECK ONE): the AJOG document Specific Inappropriate Acts in the

Publication Process and Editorial Policies. Randomized controlled trial: CONsolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT statement) has been consulted.

Guidelines for the care and use of nonhuman animals or A flowchart as a figure is submitted with the manuscript. other species approved by the institution have been followed as stated in the manuscript under Materials and Systematic review or metaanalysis: Preferred Reporting Methods. Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA Statement) has been consulted. The type(s) of non-human animals or other species used in an investigation must be named in the Title, Abstract, and Observational study or systematic review: Metaanalysis Materials and Methods sections of the manuscript. Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE Statement) has been consulted. The author(s) agree(s) to provide, upon request, original data quoted or used in the submission. Diagnostic tests: STAndards for the Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy studies (STARD Statement) has been A full response to the following is mandatory: consulted. The local institution as stated in the Materials and Epidemiologic study: Strengthening the Reporting of Methods section has approved human experimentation. OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE Statement) Institutional Review Board Project # ______has been consulted. was approved on ______(date). Health economics: the checklist specific to Health Economics papers (see Information for Authors) has been If the study was exempt from such approval, this has consulted and is submitted with the manuscript. been explained under Materials and Methods. Descriptive For a Case Report, Images in Ob/Gyn, Surgeon’s Case/control Corner, or similar report, written consent was obtained from the patient(s) discussed. The author(s) attest(s) to Prospective observational cohort this documentation in the cover letter. Prospective or retrospective analysis of data from a database Other Page 2 of 4

AUTHORSHIP AND CONTRIBUTORS Signed written permission for the use of any quotations All authors have signed the required Statement of from personal communications or unpublished data from Authorship (applies to all submissions, including editorials, the person(s) quoted is included with the submitted letters to the editors, and replies). manuscript. All authors fulfill all criteria for authorship. COVER LETTER Nonbylined contributors, including participants in The cover letter must include all required information, collaborative trials, have been recognized separately under including authorship, conflict of interest statement, any Acknowledgment(s). previous publication, and IRB approval, as described in this There is only one first author. The inclusion of co-first document and the Information for Authors. Authors must authors having contributed equally is not attest to having obtained written patient consent, as permitted. appropriate. ACKNOWLEDGMENT(S) REVIEWERS Only persons who have made substantive contributions The names, addresses, and e-mail addresses of at least 3 are named, including science writers. suggested reviewers are included. Required for all submission types except letters to the editor. Participants in a collaborative trial and those who assisted only with data collection or manuscript preparation are listed. For each individual acknowledged, his or her place of employment, any funding source(s), and a compensation disclosure statement have been included. All named individuals have consented to being listed under Acknowledgments. CONFLICT OF INTEREST This applies to all submissions, including guest editorials, letters to the editors, and replies. A conflict of interest / disclosure statement for each author appears on the title page. If no such conflict exists, the following statement has been included: “The authors report [or The author reports] no conflict of interest.” PREVIOUS OR INTENDED PUBLICATION The submission includes a reprint and/or current copy of every article that the author(s) has/have previously published, submitted for possible publication, or presented in any manuscript form that discusses the same patients, animals, laboratory experiment, or data, in part or in full, as those reported in the submitted manuscript. Similarities, differences, and further explanations are provided in the cover letter that accompanies the submitted manuscript. PREVIOUS SUBMISSION (UNPUBLISHED) Copies of previous peer review comments and a detailed response to each point have been included. PERMISSIONS Signed written permission from both the original author and the copyright holder for the use of any previously published tables, figures, or quotations and complete references for the cited material are included with the manuscript. Page 3 of 4

FORMAT All elements of the manuscript are in American English, NEXT PAGE: CONDENSATION AND SHORT VERSION OF double-spaced, with a font size no smaller than 12 and 1- TITLE inch margins at the top, bottom, and sides of each page. A single sentence of 25 words or less delineating the All pages are numbered consecutively, with material paper’s essential point(s), to be published in the Table of presented in the following order: title page(s), Contents. condensation, short version of title, abstract, key words, A short version of the article title, to be used in the body of text, acknowledgment(s), references, tables, and identification line of every table and figure in the article. figure legends. The figures themselves are supplied in separate files (see Information for Authors). NEXT PAGE: ABSTRACT AND KEY WORDS OR SHORT The type(s) of non-human animals or other species used PHRASES in an investigation must be named in the Title, Abstract, and An abstract and 3 to 5 key words or short phrases, Materials and Methods sections of the manuscript. alphabetized. Check the appropriate box: The word count of both the abstract and main text A structured abstract (50 to 350 words) for Research (excluding references) appears on the title page. articles, containing these headings: Objective(s), Study Design, Results, Conclusion(s) FIRST PAGE: TITLE AND MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS An unstructured abstract for a Clinical Opinion, These elements appear in the following sequence: Systematic Review, or Expert Review article (50 to 350 Title, no more than approximately 12 words, does not words) or a Case Report (up to 50 words) include conclusion statements or abbreviations and is concise and suitable for indexing. NEXT PAGE: MAIN TEXT Names of all authors and their highest academic Research article: organized into the following sections degree(s), with surnames in capital letters: eg, George L. and identified with these headings, described in the SMYTHE, MD. Names of any authors not called “Dr” have Information for Authors: Introduction, Materials and been identified as “Ms” or “Mr.” Methods, Results, Comment. City or cities, state(s), and non-US country or countries Clinical Opinion, Systematic Review, or Expert Review (with province, for Canada and Australia) in which the study article: includes brief subheadings (no more than 6 words) was conducted. unique to the subject matter and at regular intervals. Name(s) of the institution(s), section(s), division(s), and REFERENCES department(s) in/by which the study was performed and Have been keyed in individually, without the use of the institutional affiliation(s) of the author(s) at the time of automatic reference numbering software. the study (any who have since moved elsewhere should Numbered in the order in which they appear in the text, indicate this). with the first citation number for figures and tables starting DISCLOSURE statement of any potential conflict(s) of after the last reference number in the main text. interest for each author. If no conflict exists, state: “The Follow the format and examples in Uniform authors report [or The author reports] no conflict of Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical interest.” Journals from the International Committee of Medical Disclaimer, when appropriate, such as for members of Journal Editors. the Armed Forces and employees of the federal Contain no personal communications or unpublished government. observations; if used, these are inserted parenthetically in If the findings have been presented at a meeting or the text, unnumbered; signed approval from the person conference, name of the host organization/association and quoted is included with the submission. other required information (see Information for Authors). NEXT PAGE: TABLES Acknowledgment of financial support for the study, if any. Tables are keyed in, not supplied as Excel spreadsheets or *.jpg or *.tif files. Contact information for the individual responsible for reprint requests: name and full mailing address, e-mail Each table, headed by a title (as few words as possible; address, or both, as the author wishes to be published in reserve abbreviations for the key) and numbered in Arabic the Journal, or a statement that reprints will not be numerals, is double spaced on a separate page following available. the text and reference list. Corresponding author’s name, address, telephone All tables are cited in numeric sequence in the text. numbers, fax number, and e-mail address. Page 4 of 4

Footnote symbols are used in the order given in the AMA style guide (10th ed., 2007). NEXT PAGE: FIGURE LEGENDS Each figure has a brief title (as few words as possible). A 1- or 2-sentence description is provided for each figure. Each descriptive sentence is labeled with the figure number. Full credit is given to the original source of any copyrighted or previously published material. The legend page is numbered in sequence after the reference page(s). Figure legends appear together on a separate page, not on the figure itself. FIGURES Each figure has been uploaded as a separate image file (ie .tif, .jpeg, .bmp), and is not embedded in the text or pasted into a Microsoft Word or other text file. Each figure is numbered with an Arabic numeral and cited in numeric sequence in the text. Each figure meets the requirements outlined in the Information for Authors. All patient identifying marks have been removed. All patterns and shadings are distinguishable from each other. VIDEOS AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS A concise legend (caption, description) is included for each clip/graphic. Materials have been submitted in *.mpg or *.mov format. MAXIMUM OF 50 MBs or less per clip.