International Journal of Neonatology
Instructions for Authors
What the International Journal of Neonatology asks for in a manuscript, how to prepare it, and how to submit it. Read the requirements that apply to your study type before you begin.
01
Scope of submission
Manuscript types
The journal accepts the following types of manuscript. Each is assessed against the standards of the study design it reports.
Original research
Clinical trials, cohort studies, and translational neonatal investigations reporting primary data.
Systematic reviews
Evidence syntheses and meta-analyses in neonatal care, prepared to PRISMA.
Case reports
Clinically important neonatal cases with clear teaching value and implications for practice.
Short communications
Concise reports of novel neonatal observations or pilot data.
Quality improvement
Newborn-unit improvement studies with measurable outcomes, prepared to SQUIRE.
Protocols
Registered or prospective study protocols with transparent methods.
Methodological papers
Novel methods, measurements or diagnostics relevant to neonatal practice.
The journal sets one set of limits for its full-length formats, and these are the figures quoted wherever limits appear.
Original research. Up to 5,000 words of body text. Structured abstract of up to 250 words under Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusions. Four to six keywords. Up to 50 references. Up to six figures and tables combined.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Up to 7,000 words of body text. An abstract of up to 250 words. Four to six keywords. Up to 100 references. Figures and tables as the argument requires.
Case reports. Up to 2,500 words of body text. An abstract of up to 150 words. Four to six keywords. Up to 15 references. Clinical images are welcome, with written consent to publish.
Authors preparing a short communication, quality-improvement report, protocol or methodological paper are welcome to write to the editorial office, which will confirm the requirements for that format before submission; the address is given under How to submit.
02
Preparation
Preparing the manuscript
The structure below applies to research manuscripts; reviews, case reports and protocols follow the structure of their reporting guideline.
Title
A title that specifies the population, the intervention or exposure, and the outcome where applicable, so that the study is identifiable from the title alone.
Structured abstract
Objective, methods, results and conclusion, reporting the primary outcome with an estimate rather than significance alone.
Keywords
Keywords that reflect the neonatal terms under which the work should be found, preferring established index terms.
Introduction
The neonatal clinical context and the specific knowledge gap the study addresses.
Methods
Inclusion and exclusion criteria, the intervention or exposure, outcome definitions, and the statistical analysis plan. Gestational age and birth weight are reported, with how each was determined, together with the age at which each outcome was assessed.
Results
Findings aligned with the primary and secondary outcomes as prespecified, with participant flow accounted for.
Discussion
Interpretation of clinical relevance, comparison with existing evidence, and the limitations of the study.
Language and file format
Manuscripts are submitted in English as an editable word-processor file, not as a PDF, with pages and lines numbered and a title page supplied as a separate file.
03
Standards
Reporting guidelines
Every manuscript follows the reporting guideline that matches its design, and the completed checklist is submitted with it.
CONSORT
Randomized controlled trials, submitted with the trial registration.
STROBE
Observational studies, including cohort, case-control and cross-sectional designs.
PRISMA
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
CARE
Case reports.
STARD
Studies of diagnostic accuracy.
SQUIRE
Quality-improvement studies.
ARRIVE
Research involving animals.
Statistics
Report the statistical methods precisely, naming the software and its version. Give sample-size justification, exact P values with 95% confidence intervals and effect sizes for primary comparisons, and state how missing data were handled.
04
Integrity
Ethics, consent and disclosure
A manuscript reports the approvals its own design required. The full requirements are set out in Editorial Policies.
Ethics approval
Research involving human participants, human tissue or identifiable data names the responsible research ethics committee and gives the approval reference.
Parental consent
A newborn cannot consent, so the manuscript states that informed consent was given by a parent or legal guardian, and when it was obtained. Where consent was deferred or sought in an emergency setting, the approved procedure is reported.
Clinical-trial registration
Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be reported in the manuscript.
Identifiable infants
Photographs, imaging and case detail that could identify an infant or a family require written consent for publication from a parent or legal guardian, and that consent is stated in the article.
Data privacy
Personal data are handled under the privacy law that applies where the research was conducted, and identifiers are removed from the manuscript and its supplementary files.
Data availability
Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement.
Conflicts and funding
All authors disclose financial and personal interests and the funding that supported the work, including grant numbers and the role of any commercial sponsor. A declaration appears in every published article, including where there is nothing to declare.
Artificial-intelligence tools
Where an AI tool has been used in preparing the manuscript, the authors disclose it and remain fully accountable for the content. An AI tool cannot be listed as an author.
05
Presentation
Figures, tables and files
Figures
Figures are supplied as TIFF, EPS, PNG or high-quality JPEG at a minimum of 300 dpi at final size, with clear axis labels, units and captions that can be read independently of the text. One file per figure, numbered in the order they are cited, and each figure is cited in the text in order.
Tables
Tables are supplied as editable text rather than images, with consistent units and terminology, and footnotes defining every abbreviation used.
Reused material
Figures, tables and substantial quotations taken from other work require an applicable license or permission from the rights holder, and are attributed to the original source in the caption.
Supplementary files
Extended datasets, protocols, checklists and additional analyses may be submitted as supplementary files. They are assessed with the manuscript and published alongside the article.
06
Citation
References
References are numbered in the order they first appear in the text and formatted consistently, with a DOI given wherever one exists.
Journal article
Author AB, Author CD. Title of the article. Journal Name. 2024;12(3):145–152. doi:10.14302/issn.0000-0000.example-24-0000
Book and chapter
Author AB. Title of the Book. 3rd ed. Publisher; 2022. — Author AB. Title of the chapter. In: Editor CD, ed. Title of the Book. Publisher; 2022:55–78.
Webpage
Organization Name. Title of the page. Published March 4, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2025. https://example.org/page
Dataset
Author AB. Title of the dataset. Repository Name; 2024. doi:10.0000/example
Preprint
Author AB. Title of the preprint. Preprint Server. Posted January 15, 2025. doi:10.0000/preprint.example
Trial registration
Registry Name. Title of the trial. Identifier NCT00000000. Registered February 2, 2023. https://example.org/NCT00000000
07
Submission
How to submit
Three routes are available. Use whichever suits you; the manuscript receives the same handling either way.
Primary route
ManuscriptZone, the publisher’s submission system, where a submission can be tracked through review.
Alternative route
The simple manuscript submission form, which opens with this journal already selected.
Assisted route
The editorial office at [email protected], which will accept a manuscript by email and enter it for you.
One route per manuscript
Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.
08
After submission
Review and decision
Screening and review
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
Review model
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Preparing for double-blind review
For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.
Decision criteria
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Charges
There is no submission fee and no charge for review. The article processing charge is invoiced only after acceptance, and is set out on Article Processing Charges.
09
Before you submit
Submission checklist
The manuscript
Editable word-processor file, pages and lines numbered, with a separate title page. Structured abstract and keywords included.
The reporting checklist
The completed checklist for the guideline matching the study design.
Approvals
Ethics committee name and reference, parental consent statement, and trial registration details where the study is an interventional trial.
Statements
Data-availability statement, conflict-of-interest declaration, funding statement, and AI-use disclosure where applicable.
Figures and tables
Figures at print resolution with captions, tables as editable text, and permissions for any reused material.
One route
The manuscript is being submitted through one route only, and is not under consideration at another journal.
Next
Ready to submit
Questions about preparing a manuscript are welcome at [email protected].
- Editorial PoliciesReview, ethics, rights and the published record.
- Article Processing ChargesThe charge, when it falls due, and the withdrawal terms.
- Aims and ScopeWhat the journal publishes and where its boundaries fall.
The submission page carries the same three approved routes and the requirements that apply to each.