Fertility Nutrition explains the dietary principles that are important for good fertility and when planning a pregnancy to give you the best chance of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. It provides evidence-based information on what to eat and why good diet before pregnancy is so important for the future health of your child. Reliable scientific information underpins everything we do and helps you to get ready for pregnancy.
Our Reproductive Health guide empowers you with knowledge so you truly understand your body and ensure you are receiving the best medical treatment for any problems you may be experiencing. Good reproductive health is crucial for general health and taking positive action now lays the foundations for lifelong health. Reliable scientific information underpins everything we do and helps you take control of your wellbeing.
My Fertility Journey explains the important steps to take when planning a pregnancy to give you the best chance of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. It provides evidence-based information to help prepare your body in the important months before conception. Reliable scientific information underpins everything we do and helps you go forward with confidence as you lay the foundations for the future health of your baby.
This section of The Fertility Guide provides essential information for when you experience prolonged difficulties conceiving, failed IVF, miscarriage or have absolute infertility due to age or other factors. We know this is a heart-breaking place to be and we hope that providing reliable, evidence-based information, it will make the journey a little easier and allow you to get the help you need.
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Only those manuscripts which are original, have not been published elsewhere, and are not currently being considered for inclusion in another publication will be considered for publication in Fertility and Sterility®. Authors are advised to keep a copy of all manuscripts submitted.
All manuscripts will be evaluated by peer reviewers who will remain anonymous. Selection of the peer reviewers is at the sole discretion of the Fertility and Sterility® editors. The editors and reviewers do not disclose any information about a manuscript or its review. If revisions are required, authors are asked to return the revised manuscripts within 30 days for the first revision, and within 20 days for any subsequent revisions. Please notify the editorial office if additional time is needed or if you choose not to submit a revision.
Conditions of Authorship. Authors should have made significant conceptual, intellectual, experimental, and analytical contributions to the research, as well as having participated in writing and revising the manuscript. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for its content. Honorary authorship (i.e., not adhering to the conditions of authorship and, none-the-less, being granted authorship) is not permitted.
Responsibilities of Authors. Authors must describe the research in sufficient detail such that others could repeat it. Written, informed consent under protocols approved by an institutional or local review board or approved animal protocols are essential if the research involves human or animal subjects, respectively. This information should be stated in the manuscript and the protocol number or exempt status of approved protocols should be stated in the manuscript at the time of submission for review. Authors of clinical trials are required to prospectively register their trial with one of the ICMJE-recognized trial registries . Selective reporting of data is inappropriate, especially if unreported data are in disagreement with the findings of the selectively reported data. In accordance with the ICJME, the ASRM supports publication of negative studies. Authors should cite publications in the literature that are relevant to the uniqueness of the research and should including publications by others, as well as of their own research group. Previous publication of a preliminary report on the data is permissible, if this is stated clearly in a footnote in the manuscript.
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy (here) includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; and Writing - review and editing. Note that not all roles may apply to every manuscript, and authors may have contributed through multiple roles. More details and an example.
Changes to authorship. Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.
Scientific Misconduct. The DHHS Office of Research Integrity defines plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification. The ASRM accepts these definitions and considers them to constitute scientific misconduct. Additional unethical behavior that comprises scientific misconduct includes: submission of results from animal or clinical research that was conducted without appropriate approval and written, informed consent; duplicate publication; and honorary authorship. Research misconduct occurs when results are falsified, fabricated or plagiarized. The actions are willful or intentional, although the actual definition of misconduct varies somewhat by country. This can occur at various times during the process of proposing, performing or reviewing research. Differences of opinion or honest errors do not constitute misconduct.
Plagiarism: Using another person's words, ideas, results, and processes without giving credit to them. Plagiarism includes the theft of intellectual property, ideas or methods such as the use of information gained by personal communication, or during a grant or manuscript review. Plagiarism also includes the direct textual copying of another person's work. Direct copying of 100-250 words constitutes plagiarism. Authorship disputes are not included in this definition. Citation plagiarism is the failure to credit others with prior discoveries and is extremely common. Self-plagiarism can include multiple publications of the same manuscript in different journals or books.
Salami Publications: Dividing data, analysis, and presentation into "minimally publishable units" is a slippery slope, and can be used to extend one data set over several manuscripts. While this may be acceptable for clarity of presentation and focus on specific outcomes in different manuscripts, a motivation may also be to increase the publication list in an author's CV. The latter is unethical and unacceptable. Therefore, please acknowledge in your cover letter any similar publications or submitted manuscripts.
Partial publication. Partial presentation of data in another medium (e.g., on a website) does not necessarily preclude publication in Fertility and Sterility, but acknowledgment of the previous presentation is required, along with identification of the source (e.g., the URL of the website). Content cannot be copied verbatim from the previous presentation, as that would constitute self-plagiarism, but must be rewritten to comply with journal standards.
Authors must declare the use of generative AI in scientific writing upon submission of the paper. The following guidance refers only to the writing process, and not to the use of AI tools to analyse and draw insights from data as part of the research process:
The technology must be applied with human oversight and control and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. Authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.
The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in scientific writing must be declared by adding a statement at the end of the manuscript when the paper is first submitted. The statement will appear in the published work and should be placed in a new section before the references list. An example:
Dr EliranStatement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article.
Please note: to protect authors' rights and the confidentiality of their research, this journal does not currently allow the use of Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies such as ChatGPT or similar services by reviewers or editors in the peer review and manuscript evaluation process. We are actively evaluating compliant AI tools and may revise this policy in the future.
Investigation of scientific misconduct. All cases of suspected misconduct will be investigated initially by the Editor-In-Chief and the Publications Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine to determine if the evidence of misconduct is sufficient to proceed with a formal inquiry. If so, the author will be notified in writing of the allegations, and will be asked to provide information useful to the investigation, including access to all original data, notes, and copies of prior publications. The author's institution may be contacted, as well. Processing and publication of the manuscript will be delayed while the matter is resolved. Confidentiality will be maintained and care taken to protect the rights and reputations of all concerned. The final decision on disposition of the paper and any sanctions against the author will be made by the Editor-In-Chief in concert with the Publications Committee.
Potential sanctions include, but may not be limited to: rejection of a manuscript in process; a letter of reprimand to the author, copied to the author's institution; and correction or retraction of the manuscript, including a statement in the print issue detailing the nature of the misconduct.
Reviewers have the responsibility to objectively and fairly review the manuscript. If there is a conflict of interest or if the reviewer does not have the requisite expertise, then the manuscript should be immediately returned to the Editor for reassignment. Strict confidentiality is required during the review process. If any portion of a manuscript is shared before the review is completed and before acceptance and publication, written consent of the authors is required.
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis, see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright- holder. To verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service Crossref Similarity Check.
Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition unless they are relevant and valid. These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.
The cover letter should state that the material contained in the manuscript has not been published, has not been submitted, or is not being submitted elsewhere for publication. Each author's role in the manuscript should be detailed, and any other persons who contributed to the manuscript (providing writing assistance, for example) should be disclosed. Please note in the cover letter any manuscripts that have been published, submitted, or are in press that are similar to the submission to Fertility and Sterility and include in your submission copies of these so that the editors can be assured that there is no overlap. All authors' agreement to submission of the manuscript should be noted.
Author names and affiliations: Please include each author's full name and highest earned academic degree(s). Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliations below the names. Include the department (if applicable), institution name, city, and state/country. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate affiliation. If an author's affiliation has changed since the work was done, the new affiliation also should be listed.
Corresponding author: Only one corresponding author may be designated. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that phone numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Contact details must be kept up to date by the corresponding author.
Disclosure Statement: In the interest of transparency, we ask you to disclose all relationships/activities/interests that are related to the content of your manuscript. "Related" means any relation with for-profit or not-for-profit third parties whose interests may be affected by the content of the manuscript. Disclosure represents a commitment to transparency and does not necessarily indicate a bias. If you are in doubt about whether to list a relationship/activity/interest, it is preferable that you do so.
The author's relationships/activities/interests should be defined broadly. For example, if your manuscript pertains to stimulation for ART, you should declare all relationships with manufacturers of such medication, even if that medication is not mentioned in the manuscript. All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could influence the design, conductor or reporting of their work. Report all support for the work reported in this manuscript without time limit. For all other items, the time frame for disclosure is the past 36 months. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. If there are no competing interests, then please state this for each author: Disclosure: "none'.
All authors are required to report potential conflicts of interest on the title page of the manuscript. The Conflict of Interest form can be found at: ICMJE | Disclosure of Interest. The full form for all authors is required at revision and not submission.
CRediT Authorship Contribution Statement: List each author and their role in the paper choosing from the following options: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Authors need to identify what will be will be made available to others (i.e. the raw data, individual patient data, a data dictionary that defines each field in the data set, and supporting documentation such as statistical/analytic code). If data will be shared, information on when, where, and how the data will be available (eg, a link to a data repository) and if there will be any restrictions on the use of the data. Authors also have the option to explain why data may not be shared. For more information and examples of data sharing statements, please see the ICMJE data sharing guidelines.
A structured abstract, by means of appropriate headings, should provide the context or background for the research and should state its purpose, basic procedures (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods), main findings (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible), and principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations. The target word limit for the abstract is 350 words. Do not include abbreviations, acronyms or commercial names in the abstract.