We need to stop female genital mutilation!

Over the next decade around 30 million girls under age 15 are at risk of FGM/C. Given that there is no physical benefit for the girls and acknowledging that FGM/C involves physical, psychological, social and reproductive harm, we, along with major international and national governmental and non-governmental organizations find FGM/C a severe violation of human rights. We must encourage vigorous action among health providers, civil society, womens organizations, funders, international agencies, international and national courts of justice, global and religious leaders, and governments to change this unacceptable practice.Fil: Belizan, Jose. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Miller, Suellen. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Salaria, Natasha. Biomed Central; Reino Unid

Preterm birth, an unresolved issue

Premature birth is the world's leading cause of neonatal mortality with worldwide estimates indicating 11.1% of all live births were preterm in 2010. Preterm birth rates are increasing in most countries with continual differences in survival rates amongst rich and poor countries. Preterm birth is currently an important unresolved global issue with research efforts focusing on uterine quiescence and activation, the 'omics' approaches and implementation science in order to reduce the incidence and increase survival rates of preterm babies. The journal Reproductive Health has published a supplement entitled Born Too Soon which addresses factors in the preconception and pregnancy period which may increase the risk of preterm birth and also outlines potential interventions which may reduce preterm birth rates and improve survival of preterm babies by as much as 84% annually. This is critical in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG 4) for child survival by 2015 and beyond.Fil: Belizan, Jose. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Hofmeyr, Justus. University of The Witwatersrand;Fil: Buekens, Pierre. University of Tulane; Estados UnidosFil: Salaria, Natasha. BioMed Central; Reino Unid

How can we improve the use of essential evidence-based interventions?

Between 250,000-280,000 women die worldwide during pregnancy and childbirth each year and children in low- and middle-income countries are 56 times more likely to die before the age of 5 than children in high-income countries. This Editorial discusses the publishing of a supplement within Reproductive Health titled Essential interventions for maternal, newborn and child health which aims to provide a scientific basis to the recommended interventions along with implementation strategies and proposed packages of care.Fil: Belizan, Jose. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Salaria, Natasha. BioMed Central; Reino UnidoFil: Valanzasca, Pilar. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Mbizvo, Michael. University of Zimbabwe; Zimbabu

Preconception care: it’s never too early

The preconception window has been recognized as one of the earliest sensitive windows of human development, and interventions that focus on this period have the potential to affect not only pregnancy but long term outcomes as well. The journal Reproductive Health has published a supplement entitled ‘Preconception Interventions’ which includes a series of systematic reviews regarding the impact of public health interventions during the preconception period on maternal and child health. These articles describe the role that poor preconception health plays in creating health disparities across the globe. The reviews highlight our current understanding (or lack thereof) regarding how both maternal and paternal preconception health and knowledge shapes the long-term health of not only children, but of families, communities, and nations. Researchers and healthcare workers should take particular note of these interventions, as the preconception time period may be as important as the pregnancy and post-pregnancy periods, and is critical in terms of bridging the gap in the continuum of care, particularly for adolescents.Fil: Mumford, Sunni L.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Michels, Kara A.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Salaria, Natasha. BioMed Central; Reino UnidoFil: Valanzasca, Pilar. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Belizan, Jose. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Reproductive Health is pleased to announce a mandatory open data policy in the journal

The field of global health is evolving and moving forward from not just securing open access publication toaid in the dissemination of research but further still,making the data underpinning the results of that publication open. Funders1 in the field, and recently theInternational Committee of Medical Journal Editors(ICMJE) [1], are increasingly requiring that researchersmake data produced during their grants publiclyaccessible.Although the push for more data sharing and transparency started with the genomics community, it is quicklyspreading to the global health communities. Indeed, twomajor organisations in the field have already set up a stronginfrastructure for data reuse and sharing. Many of us arealready familiar with the power of open data through theWHO Global Health Observatory Data Repository [2] andthe World Bank Open Data Catalogue [3], both of whichare invaluable resources. In February 2016 the WellcomeTrust also joined ?over 30 global health bodies in calling forall research data gathered during the Zika virus outbreak,and future public health emergencies, to be made availableas rapidly and openly as possible? [4]. This follows a consensus statement arising from a WHO consultation in September 2015 moving towards making this the global norm [5].Reproductive Health wants to help spearhead thisparadigm shift to ensure all data underlying the researchpublished within the journal is publicly available to ensure transparency of research and contribute to enhancing research in the field.Fil: Salaria, Natasha. No especifíca;Fil: Kenall, Amye. No especifíca;Fil: Belizan, Jose. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin