Last year the State of the Journal editorial reviewed the progress of the Journal of Perinatology (J Perinatol) over the past 5 years.1 The major changes that occurred during that period were the change to monthly publication (in 2004) and the dramatic increase in the number of manuscript submissions. In 2007, more than 500 Original Articles, Editorials, Reviews and other manuscripts were received for consideration of publication. This increase in submissions represented 100% growth over the 5 years. In the past year, we have continued to grow at approximately 10% rate, with 583 first submission articles received in 2008 for consideration of publication. We have also evaluated 190 resubmitted revised manuscripts during the past year. As we continue to publish approximately 200 articles per year, I conclude that we are becoming more selective regarding manuscript acceptance. The most common type of manuscript submitted is the Original Article—the product of research involving human studies usually of mothers or infants, but occasionally follow-up studies. In 2008, we completed 288 Original Article reviews and accepted 38% for publication. The next most common manuscript type is the Perinatal/Neonatal case presentation of which we evaluated 158 and accepted 15%. Our goal for 2009 is to continue this growth in submissions while retaining the quality of reviews and relatively short external evaluation period.

As a component part of the Nature Publishing Group, we are advantaged by their awareness of the larger issues surrounding research publishing. They have been evaluating different mechanisms for guaranteeing continued access to electronic archives of published materials. The J Perinatol author-licensing policies are compliant with the NIH and other funding organizations. Nature Publishing Group supports an active J Perinatol webpage within their large group of journals. Nature Publishing Group and the Academy of Pediatrics Section on Perinatal Pediatrics have worked together to provide an electronic gateway between the respective websites for Section members to access electronically, without charge, J Perinatol contents and its archives. The J Perinatol Table of Contents is distributed monthly to approximately 40 000 other registrants and over 100 000 page views occur on the J Perinatol website every month. Our goal for the coming year will be to continue to expand these electronic resources and follow the trends in measuring our usefulness to the Perinatal/Neonatal community.

As reported last year, we continue to evaluate all articles in the editorial offices and assign an initial preliminary priority for publication. During this process some articles fail to achieve sufficient preliminary priority for further consideration and are returned to the authors, usually within a week, with an early decision. We anticipate that the authors will be aided by the editor's brief comments and will be able to submit their article expeditiously elsewhere.

All remaining Original Articles, State-of-Art Reviews and Case Presentations are further reviewed externally before publication. Annually we thank our external reviewers for lending their critical expertise in helping to evaluate these articles. Last year 368 external reviewers submitted over 600 manuscript reviews. The reviewers are listed following this editorial as a means of recognizing and thanking them for their efforts. Their high-quality reviews produce better articles and their efforts are integral to the growing J Perinatol reputation. We will continue to utilize external manuscript reviewers before acceptance for publication in order to continue to assure scientific integrity and quality of our published papers. This year Thompson ISI will publish the first impact factor for J Perinatol and our goal will be to provide continuing high-quality published manuscripts to increase annually this index of journal standing.

This year has seen significant changes in journal personnel. Our Emeritus Editor, Gilbert Martin, had been performing as the Supplements Editor and producing 2 to 4 supplements annually for at least the past 7 years. Dr Martin is a J Perinatol founder and has nurtured J Perinatol in its evolution from a biannual publication of the California Perinatal Association through to the present day. Dr Martin was critically responsible for attaining the sponsorship by the National Perinatal Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Perinatal Pediatrics. Dr Martin remains as our Emeritus Editor and I am certain he will continue to counsel and support the editors, authors and Editorial Board. Dr Jatinder Bhatia, Chief of Neonatology at the Medical College of Georgia, is assuming the role of Supplements Editor and will be supervising publication of these components of J Perinatol's annual production.

We made considerable changes to the Editorial Board this year as well. I personally thank the Board Members who have completed their terms for their many efforts during their years of service and encourage them to remain available for reviews and other supporting roles. The new Editorial Board members have expressed enthusiasm and eagerly anticipate their new roles.

A last personnel change has been in the role of Editorial Assistant. Many of you know Ruth Bassford as the person at the other end of our telephone and who was able to respond to the many issues people raise regarding J Perinatol, especially issues relating to article submission with the Manuscript Tracking System. Ms Bassford remains as our assistant, but she is now off-site in a virtual office. Unfortunately that means the loss of having a person immediately available for telephone support, but she is very responsive to email questions and will continue her critical role assisting authors, reviewers and editors. She also is the person who processes all the articles from initial submission to final uploading to the publisher.

During the past year we have put considerable effort into enhancing the State-of-Art Review section. Our goal is to have a review in each issue and we are achieving this goal at large. We believe that review articles will provide immediate and clear support for our readers in their clinical roles. I ask our readers to provide me with suggestions for topics and authors of articles that they believe will meet this goal.

In conclusion, J Perinatol remains strong and active. The editors, Editorial Board Members and our reviewers are committed to providing a scholarly, relevant and interesting multidisciplinary publication that our readership will enjoy every month.