We warmly welcome contributions from around the world.

The International Journal of Birth and Parent Education (IJBPE) recognises that parent education is a global movement. While the transition to parenthood is affected by personal, social and cultural factors, there is, nonetheless, a core human experience which women and men share when they become mothers and fathers. Therefore, the work undertaken by practitioners in one part of the world will have relevance to those working elsewhere.

Topics of interest to readers of the International Journal of Birth and Parent Education include:-

• Pre-conception education
• Education and support for labour and birth
• Education for early parenting
• Parenting education for fathers, same-sex couples, kinship carers, parents from minority groups, parents in prison, parents who are refugees or asylum seekers
• How to support parents to develop an optimal relationship with their unborn and newborn baby, and their pre-school child
• Also of interest to the International Journal of Birth and Parent Education are knowledge-base a in relation to early brain development, breastfeeding, language acquisition, sleep and routines, optimal nutrition from birth to pre-school, IT for pre-school children, parents of children with autism, parents of children with learning disabilities, parents of children with physical health challenges, parents who are fostering or adopting children

Language

The IJBPE is published in the UK, in English. Articles will be edited with sensitivity and a proof sent to the author for approval before publication.

Tone

The IJBPE is not a magazine. It is a serious, professional Journal that aims to be respected as authoritative and to be cited by researchers, academics and practitioners across the world. To this end, the tone of articles needs to be formal without being ponderous. Authors should assume that their readers are well-educated, highly motivated practitioners accustomed to reading referenced articles and interested in the latest research in their field.

Guidelines for Articles

Below are guidelines for authors. They are merely guidelines and individuals’ creativity is welcome. The Editor is happy to support authors who may be new to writing but have important messages to convey.

1. Articles should begin with an unstructured summary of approximately 150 words.
2. Please explain your topic in non-specialist language, suitable for a health or social care professional or qualified lay educator (e.g. Health Visitor, Midwife, Parent Educator, Psychologist, Birth Educator).
3. If relevant, please include synopses of the latest research relating to your topic.
4. The article should be referenced using the Harvard system.
5. Feel free to make use of bullet points, boxes and tables. These help break up your text and increase accessibility.
6. Include diagrams (as long as not copyright). Illustrations and diagrams should be provided as separate high resolution files (minimum 300dps), and not embedded in a Word document. In some cases, they will have to be redrawn. Please bear in mind the need for confidentiality and obtain consent before submitting any photographs featuring individuals. If you wish to reproduce any copyright material, it is your responsibility as the author to obtain permission to do so from the original Journal/author.
7. Suggestions for further reading or additional resources for readers are helpful.
8. Your article should be approximately 1,500 – 3,500 words in length plus references.

Submitting Articles

Please submit articles electronically to the Editor: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Use:

• Arial
• Font size 12
• Line spacing 1.5

Peer Review

The Editor will decide whether an article submitted for publication needs to be peer-reviewed. Peer review will normally be undertaken by a member of the Editorial Board. If no member of the Editorial Board has the required expertise, the Editor will submit the article to an external reviewer.

Decision on Publication

Authors will be informed whether their article has been accepted for publication within 6 weeks of its submission.

Copyright

Acceptance for publication is conditional on the author assigning copyright to the International Journal of Birth & Parent Education and its Publisher: Birth and Parent Education Ltd.

Open Access Policy

We are a ‘green’ publisher, as we allow self-archiving of articles.

Where can I share my article and which version can I share?

• Author’s Original Manuscript (AoM) – your paper, before peer-review
• Accepted Manuscript (AM) – paper after peer review, revised and accepted for publication
• Version of Record (VoR) – final, definitive, citable version of paper (i.e. the publisher pdf)