Abstract
Y
For the past decade, this challenge has been met most successfully by the doyenne of breastfeeding medicine, Dr. Ruth Lawrence. Initially as the author of the classic textbook, Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, subsequently as a founder of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and finally in her capacity as the Founding Editor of Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, she challenged members of the global medical profession to accept their responsibility for the study and care of the nursing mother and infant. Most importantly, in her role as Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine, she was instrumental in helping to define the practice of breastfeeding as a medical discipline based on documented scientific data and evidence-based clinical research, thus broadening our understanding that the importance of breastfeeding is beyond the simple principles of nutrition and peer support of the nursing mother.
As such, the journal Breastfeeding Medicine served as a forum for the publication of peer-reviewed articles from a worldwide community of investigators and clinicians. No less importantly, the Journal, in turn, stimulated scientists and clinicians to focus their academic interests and efforts on the study of all aspects of human lactation and breastfeeding. Testimony to Dr. Lawrence's success is the growth and flourishing of Breastfeeding Medicine, which is now published 10 times per year, including the publication of the latest scientific abstracts from the meetings of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and the International Society of Research in Human Milk and Lactation. Clearly, Breastfeeding Medicine is where the action is!
And yes, there is an inevitability of time, and after nearly a decade Dr. Lawrence has chosen to turn over the reins and relinquish her role as Editor-in-Chief, while continuing in the role of Founding Editor. On the invitation of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and Mary Ann Liebert, the publisher of the Journal, I will be assuming the role of Editor-in-Chief as of January 2015. To follow in the footsteps of giants is always a daunting challenge, but having served for years on the Editorial Board of Breastfeeding Medicine and my experience being intimately involved in clinical research projects, authoring multiple scientific publications, and serving in various editorship roles have prepared me for this role. The facts that I too, like Dr. Lawrence, come from the world of pediatrics and neonatology and that our basic training (though years apart) was at the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, the bastion of rooming-in and breastfeeding advocacy and support even decades ago, confirm the identity of our orientation and vision.
However, as expected and in coordination with the publisher, the existing editorial team, and the Board of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, there will be inevitable changes in the Journal. Evidence-based research and clinical management studies and protocols will be the focus as opposed to program descriptions. The potential relevance of the data for our worldwide readership will be emphasized, thus limiting the publications of manuscripts that relate primarily to local features and parochial issues. The need to be able to generalize from the reported programs will be the test. Complementing these studies will be the regular publication of basic science research regarding the qualities and components of human milk and the short- and long-term consequences of breastfeeding for the mother and infant (be they nutritional, immunological, metabolic, cardiovascular, oncologic, etc.). No less so, the Journal will serve as the forum for presentation of public health issues that are relevant to our international readership. Publication of case reports will be limited to those unique situations wherein the observation can be generalized to have extensive clinical relevance.
To accomplish the above, the new Editorial Board will reflect the global interest and impact of Breastfeeding Medicine, with new members from China, India, and South America along with a broader European representation. To the retiring Editorial Board members, a special thanks is due for their efforts and major contribution to the Journal's success to date. While the primary target audience of the Journal will be physicians, both the Editorial Board and contributors will include basic scientists and scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines, a combination that will guarantee that Breastfeeding Medicine will become the premium publication in the field of human lactation and breastfeeding.
Thus, as the proverbial baton of leadership is being passed on to me, let us all harken to the words of King Solomon, who in his prophetic wisdom alluded to Dr. Ruth Lawrence and stated in the book of Proverbs (Chapter 21, verse 29–30): “Many daughters have done virtuously but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord shall be praised.”
No less so is the charge of King David (Psalms, Chapter 74, verse 8) that we and Breastfeeding Medicine shall go from “strength to strength,” and I, as the new Editor-in-Chief, humbly accept this trust and responsibility to do just so.