JMWH: Scope, Indexing & Author Guide

The Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH) is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), published by John Wiley & Sons. Indexed continuously in MEDLINE and PubMed, JMWH serves as a primary scholarly channel for clinical practice, health equity, perinatal care, and healthcare policy relevant to midwives, advanced practice nurses, and reproductive health researchers worldwide.

What it is

The Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (commonly abbreviated as JMWH) is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scholarly periodical dedicated to maternal-infant health, gynecology, primary care, and reproductive health. The journal was founded under its current title in 2000 (starting with Volume 45, Issue 1), continuing the former Journal of Nurse-Midwifery (established under ISSN 0091-2182). JMWH operates under two registered International Standard Serial Numbers: print ISSN 1526-9523 and electronic ISSN 1542-2011.

Bibliographically, JMWH is cataloged under U.S. National Library of Medicine identifier NLM ID 100909407 and Library of Congress Control Number LCCN sn 99009368, with the official NLM title abbreviation J Midwifery Womens Health. The journal assigns Crossref digital object identifiers (DOIs) to all published articles, maintaining over 4,680 registered DOIs across research papers, clinical reviews, editorials, and policy statements.

Beyond traditional scholarly dissemination, JMWH publishes continuing education (CE) modules approved by the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Practicing clinicians complete these peer-reviewed modules online to maintain clinical certification, earning instant credit verification upon passing associated examinations.

Who runs it and what it covers

JMWH is owned by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and published in partnership with Wiley (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Editorial direction is led by Editor-in-Chief Melissa Avery, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, supported by Deputy Editor Heather Bradford, PhD, CNM, FACNM, and an interprofessional editorial board of nurse-midwives, obstetricians, and maternal health researchers.

The explicit editorial scope of JMWH centers on clinical excellence, health equity, antiracism, and systemic improvements across maternal and reproductive care. Major topical pillars include:

• Perinatal and Intrapartum Care: Evidence-based labor management, physiologic birth, postpartum monitoring, neonatal transition, and perinatal mental health.
• Gynecologic and Sexual Health: Contraceptive counseling, cervical cancer screening, adolescent reproductive health, menopause management, and infectious disease prevention.
• Primary Care for Women: Management of chronic health conditions (such as hypertension and diabetes) across the female lifespan.
• Health Equity and Antiracism: Investigation into racial and ethnic disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality, structural determinants of health, and culturally congruent care models.
• Policy, Workforce, and Education: Regulatory structures governing midwifery and maternal health research, scope of practice legislation, and clinical education curricula.
• Global Maternal Health: Comparative analyses of international maternal care delivery and community-based maternity initiatives.

Bibliometric indexing covers the complete modern run of JMWH in the MEDLINE database (from Volume 45, Issue 1, January/February 2000 to the present) and PubMed, where more than 2,840 citations are indexed under Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) including Midwifery, Women’s Health, Nursing, and Obstetrics.

How to search or use it

Researchers, authors, and clinical practitioners interact with JMWH across three official touchpoints: the journal homepage on Wiley Online Library, the ACNM portal, and the ScholarOne submission interface. To identify articles, access full text, or submit a manuscript, follow this verified five-step workflow:

1. Locate the Official Journal Portal: Navigate to the JMWH journal hub hosted on Wiley Online Library (electronic ISSN 1542-2011) or through the ACNM publications directory. Institutional subscribers access authenticated content via university single sign-on (SSO) or library proxy links.
2. Search Published Literature: Use the search bar on the Wiley journal page to query titles, author names, keywords, or DOIs. Alternatively, execute a targeted search on PubMed using the official NLM query syntax "J Midwifery Womens Health"[ta] combined with clinical MeSH terms to retrieve MEDLINE-indexed citations.
3. Review Author Guidelines: Prior to submission, consult the JMWH manuscript requirements available through the editorial portal. Manuscripts must adhere to established reporting standards, such as CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, and PRISMA for systematic reviews.
4. Prepare Anonymized Files: Because JMWH uses a strict double-anonymous peer review model, authors must prepare a title page file (including author names, institutional affiliations, and acknowledgments) completely separate from the main blinded manuscript text, ensuring no identifying references remain in the text or file properties.
5. Submit via ScholarOne Manuscripts: Access the JMWH submission center at Manuscript Central (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jmwh). Log in with an ORCID-linked account, select the manuscript category, enter metadata, upload document files, and confirm submission. Authors track peer review milestones directly through their ScholarOne dashboard.

Strengths and limits

Understanding the operational profile of JMWH helps research teams determine when the journal represents the optimal outlet for their maternal and reproductive health manuscripts:

Key Strengths

• Clinical Authority: As the official journal of ACNM, JMWH commands immediate respect and uptake among maternity clinicians, hospital directors, and maternal health policy makers.
• Double-Anonymous Review: Blinding both author identities and reviewer identities minimizes institutional and geographical bias, supporting objective evaluation of clinical evidence.
• Continuous Indexing: Full coverage across MEDLINE, PubMed, and Index Medicus guarantees worldwide discoverability and citation tracking through academic literature databases.
• Zero-Cost Subscription Publishing: Authors are not required to pay submission fees or mandatory page charges to publish under the standard subscription track.
• Continuing Education Integration: Select peer-reviewed papers are adapted directly into ACNM-accredited continuing education modules, translating empirical research directly into clinical practice.

Operational Limits

• Hybrid Access Paywall: Under the standard subscription model, articles remain behind a subscription barrier for non-subscribers and institutions without Wiley collection licenses, unless authors purchase open-access dissemination.
• Author Open-Access Expense: Authors who choose or are mandated by funding agencies to provide Gold Open Access must pay article processing charges (APCs) of $3,750 USD via Wiley OnlineOpen, unless covered under institutional transformative agreements.
• U.S. Practice Orientation: While international submissions are welcomed, the journal’s editorial remit places primary emphasis on healthcare delivery models, regulatory policies, and professional certification structures relevant to the United States.
• Bimonthly Publication Cadence: With six issues published annually, scheduling constraints may result in queue periods between final acceptance and formal issue assignment, though early-view digital versions appear online beforehand.

Alternatives

Researchers evaluating publication channels or conducting comprehensive literature syntheses can compare JMWH against other leading maternal health and nursing journals, such as the International Journal of Nursing Studies and European-based midwifery titles:

Journal	Publisher	ISSN	Primary Scope	Review Model	Access Model
Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH)	Wiley / ACNM	1526-9523 / 1542-2011	Midwifery practice, reproductive care, health equity, perinatal policy	Double-anonymous	Hybrid (Subscription / Optional $3,750 USD APC)
International Journal of Nursing Studies (IJNS)	Elsevier	0020-7489 / 1873-491X	Health services, nursing workforce, acute care, patient outcomes	Single or double-blind track	Hybrid (Subscription / Optional Gold APC)
Midwifery	Elsevier	0266-6138 / 1532-3099	International pregnancy, birth, infant feeding, and postpartum care	Double-blind	Hybrid (Subscription / Optional Gold APC)
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth	BMC / Springer Nature	1471-2393	Perinatal epidemiology, maternal-fetal medicine, global health	Single-blind / Open peer review	Gold Open Access (Author APC required)

FAQ

What does the acronym JMWH stand for?

JMWH stands for the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, the official peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM).

Is JMWH indexed in MEDLINE and PubMed?

Yes. JMWH is actively indexed in MEDLINE, PubMed, and Index Medicus under NLM ID 100909407 and title abbreviation J Midwifery Womens Health, covering all issues from 2000 (Volume 45) to the present.

What peer-review system does JMWH use?

JMWH utilizes a double-anonymous peer review process. Both reviewer identities and author identities are concealed throughout the evaluation process to promote impartial assessment.

Does JMWH charge submission or publication fees?

No mandatory submission fees or page charges are levied for publishing under the standard subscription track. Authors who wish or are required by funders to publish open access may elect Wiley OnlineOpen, which carries an Article Processing Charge (APC) of $3,750 USD.

How do ACNM members access JMWH?

Active members of the American College of Nurse-Midwives receive complimentary access to all current and archival JMWH issues by signing into their ACNM membership portal or linking their accounts on Wiley Online Library.

Who serves as the Editor-in-Chief of JMWH?

The Editor-in-Chief of JMWH is Melissa Avery, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, who oversees the strategic direction, editorial standards, and manuscript selection for the journal.

Sources

• American College of Nurse-Midwives. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health Overview and Scope. Available at: https://midwife.org/journal-of-midwifery-women-s-health/. Verified November 8, 2026.
• American College of Nurse-Midwives. Leadership and Editorial Directory. Available at: https://midwife.org/about/. Verified November 8, 2026.
• U.S. National Library of Medicine. NLM Catalog: Journal of midwifery & women’s health (NLM ID: 100909407). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/100909407. Verified November 8, 2026.
• Crossref. Journal Record for ISSN 1542-2011 (Wiley). Available at: https://api.crossref.org/journals/1542-2011. Verified November 8, 2026.
• OpenAlex. Source Metadata Record: Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (Host: Wiley). Available at: https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=issn:1542-2011. Verified November 8, 2026.
• National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubMed Database Search for JMWH ISSN (1542-2011). Available at: https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/esearch.fcgi. Verified November 8, 2026.