Journal of Midwifery

Publisher: UNIVED Press, Universitas Dehasen Bengkulu, Indonesia

Print ISSN 2338-7068  |  Online ISSN 2722-4228

Journal website: https://jurnal.unived.ac.id/index.php/JM

EDITORIAL POLICY • Proposed for Editorial Board approval

Policy framework

This policy governs scholarly submissions and publications in midwifery, reproductive health, maternal and newborn care. It should be read with the journal’s Author Guidelines, editorial ethics requirements and applicable law. Operational measures proposed here take effect only after approval and technical implementation by the Editorial Board and publisher.

1. Purpose

The journal encourages constructive, evidence-based scholarly debate after publication, including discussion of maternity outcomes, clinical practice, research methods, interpretation and reproducibility. Different professional opinions do not by themselves constitute misconduct.

2. Accepted contributions

Readers, practitioners, researchers and authors may submit Letters to the Editor, reasoned methodological critiques, replication findings, requests for clarification and evidence-based responses. Submissions should identify the original article and DOI or URL, explain the concern precisely, and include relevant evidence and competing-interest disclosures.

3. Editorial screening

The Editor-in-Chief screens submissions for accuracy, significance, relevance, professional tone and patient confidentiality. The journal may consult an independent methodological or clinical expert. Defamatory, discriminatory, abusive or unsupported accusations may be declined, but credible integrity concerns must still be assessed under the misconduct policy.

4. Author right of reply

Original authors should be offered a reasonable opportunity to respond to substantive critique. A suitable letter may be published without a reply where the authors decline or fail to respond after fair notice. The journal may close repetitive exchanges while retaining a record of material evidence.

5. Patient and clinical safety

Public discussion must never reveal confidential maternity, reproductive-health or newborn information. Where credible concerns suggest imminent clinical or public-health harm, the editorial team should consider prompt, proportionate action and appropriate professional or institutional notification.

6. Corrections and retractions

Verified limited errors may merit a correction; substantial but unresolved doubts may merit an expression of concern; serious unreliability or other substantiated grounds may require retraction. Notices must be linked to the original article, transparent and reflected in appropriate metadata. Disagreement over interpretation alone is not grounds for retraction.

7. Channel and documentation

Comments may be submitted through https://jurnal.unived.ac.id/index.php/JM and published in an approved OJS correspondence section when editorially appropriate. The journal should retain decisions, communications and notices with restricted access where sensitive material is involved.

8. Review

The Editorial Board should periodically review the effectiveness and fairness of post-publication communication under relevant COPE principles.

Policy governance and references

Policy authority: Editorial Board, Journal of Midwifery. Publisher: UNIVED Press, Universitas Dehasen Bengkulu, Indonesia. Status: proposed revised policy, pending formal approval. The Editorial Board should review the policy periodically and publish material amendments on the official journal website.

Professional guidance for adoption and periodic review:

ICMJE Recommendations: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

COPE: https://publicationethics.org/

CRediT Taxonomy: https://credit.niso.org/

EQUATOR Network: https://www.equator-network.org/

PRISMA 2020: https://www.prisma-statement.org/

Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/