Official journal of the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association (OAA). Members of the OAA receive the journal as a benefit of their membership.

A paper that contains the results of human and/or animal studies will only be accepted for publication if it is made clear that a high standard of ethics was applied in carrying out the investigation. In the case of invasive studies of humans, the text should include a statement that the research protocol was approved by a local institutional review board or ethics committee. For case reports, evidence of the patient's consent to publish should be given.
The Editors reserve the right to make editorial and literary corrections. Any opinions expressed or policies advocated do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Editors.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS
International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia is using an online, electronic submission system. By accessing the website http://ees.elsevier.com/ijoa you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. When submitting a manuscript to Elsevier Editorial System, authors need to provide an electronic version of their manuscript. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or journal procedures to the Editorial Office at:
IJOA, Editorial Office Health Sciences, ELSEVIER, Room 19.030, PO Box 993, 1000 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
E-mail: ijoa@elsevier.com
Tel: +31 (0) 20 485 3088
Fax: +31 (0) 20 485 3378

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration (in whole or in part) 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and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
Please ensure that the following items are present:
One Author designated as corresponding Author:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
• Telephone and fax numbers
All necessary files have been uploaded
• Keywords
• All figure captions
• All tables (including title, description, footnotes)

Further considerations
• Manuscript has been "spellchecked" and "grammar-checked"
• References are in the correct format for this journal
• All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web)
• Colour figures are clearly marked as being intended for colour reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print or to be reproduced in colour on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print
• If only colour on the Web is required, black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes

PREPARATION OF TEXT
Papers should be submitted in English in journal style. Failure to do so may lead to significant delays in publication. Spelling may be British or American but must be consistent.
Papers should be set out as follows: title page, abstract and key words, text, acknowledgements, references, tables, captions to illustrations, with each section beginning on a separate sheet.

Title page. The title page should give the following information: (1) title of the article, which should mention the type of study (randomised, observational, audit, survey, case report etc.); (2) initials and name of each author (no titles or qualifications here); (3) name and brief address of the department or institution to which the work should be attributed; (4) any further author details as is desired, together with the name, full postal address, telephone number and e-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence and to whom requests for offprints should be sent; (5) sources of support in the form of grants; and (6) short title of no more than 50 characters.

Abstract. This should consist of not more than 250 words summarising the contents of the article and should contain no references or abbreviations. Where appropriate use a structured abstract with the headings: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions - followed by key words.

Text. Headings should be appropriate to the nature of the paper. In general those for experimental papers should follow the usual conventions. Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion etc. do not need to be on separate sheets. Other papers can be subdivided as the author desires; the use of headings enhances readability.

When reporting randomised trials, authors are advised to refer to http://www.consort-statement.org .

REFERENCE FORMAT
The accuracy of references is the responsibility of the author. References should be entered consecutively by superscript Arabic numbers in the text after punctuation and not preceded by spaces. The references should be listed in numerical order on a separate sheet in double spacing. References to journals should include the author's name and initials (list all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first three and add et al.), full title of the paper, journal title abbreviated using Index Medicus abbreviations, year of publication, volume number, first and last page numbers. If not in Index Medicus journal titles should be given in full.

For example: Scott DB, Tunstall ME. Serious complications associated with epidural/spinal blockade. Int J Obstet Anesth 1995; 4: 133-9.
References to books should be set out as follows: Pan PH, Eisenach JC. The pain of childbirth and its effects on the mother and fetus. In: Chestnut DH, Polley LS, Tsen LC, Wong CA, ed. Obstetric Anesthesia Principles and Practice. 4th ed.
Philadelphia: Elsevier Mosby; 2009:387-404.

Citing and listing of Web references. As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

PREPARATION OF ELECTRONIC ILLUSTRATIONS
A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (Note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below.):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".
Please do not:
• Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation) document
• Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low
• Supply files that are too low in resolution
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content

Photographs (halftones): Remove non-essential areas of a photograph. Do not mount photographs unless they form part of a composite figure. Where necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to giving a magnification factor in the caption.

Colour Illustrations: Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for colour in print or on the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions .

Line illustrations: The lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should have proportionate dimensions, so as not to become illegible or unclear after possible reduction; in general, the figures should be designed for a reduction factor of two to three. The degree of reduction will be determined by the Publisher. Illustrations will not be enlarged. Consider the page format of the journal when designing the illustrations. Do not use any type of shading on computer-generated illustrations.

Tables: Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

Supplementary Data: Elsevier accepts supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com . In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions .

UNITS & ABBREVIATIONS
Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. All unusual abbreviations should be fully explained at their first occurrence in the text. Avoid numerous invented abbreviations. All measurements should be expressed in metric units, SI units being preferred except in the case of fluid pressures. For more detailed recommendations, authors may consult the Royal Society of Medicine publication: Units, Symbols and Abbreviations: A Guide for Biological and Medical Editors and Authors.
Proprietary names of drugs, instruments etc. if essential, should start with initial capital letters.

LANGUAGE EDITING
International Science Editing and Asia Science Editing can provide English language and copyediting services to authors who want to publish in scientific, technical and medical Journals and need assistance before they submit their article or, before it is accepted for publication. Authors can contact these services directly: International Science Editing ( http://www.internationalscienceediting.com ) and Asia Science Editing ( http://www.asiascienceediting.com ) or, for more information about language editing services, please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com who will be happy to deal with any questions.
Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our terms & conditions by visiting http://www.asiascienceediting.com and clicking 'terms and conditions' at the very bottom of the page.

FUNDING BODY AGREEMENTS AND POLICIES
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies .

PATIENT DETAILS
Unless you have written permission from the patient (or, where applicable, the next of kin), personal details of patients included in any part of the article and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission. For further information see http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/patientphotographs .

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
In order for us to ensure maximum dissemination and copyright protection of material published in the Journal, copyright must be explicitly transferred from author to publisher. A copyright transfer form will be sent to the corresponding author when the paper is received by the publisher. A copy of this agreement must be signed by all authors before any paper can be published. You are free to use material contained in your paper without requesting permission, however, provided the journal is acknowledged as the original source of publication.

Permission to reproduce borrowed material. Written permission to reproduce borrowed illustrations or tables must be obtained from the original publishers and authors, and submitted with the typescript. Borrowed material should be acknowledged in the captions in this style: 'Reproduced by the kind permission of ... (author and publisher) from ... (reference)'.

PROOFS
Proofs will be sent to the corresponding author for checking, normally by email as a PDF file. Any corrections must be returned within 48 hours of receipt, preferably by email. Corrections should be restricted to typesetting errors; any other amendments may be charged to the author. Queries should be answered in full. Elsevier will do everything possible to correct and publish your article as quickly and accurately as possible. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all your corrections are sent to us in one all-inclusive email or fax. Subsequent additional corrections will not be possible.

OFFPRINTS
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via email or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.

AUTHOR ENQUIRIES
Questions arising after acceptance of the manuscript, especially those relating to proofs, should be directed to:
Elsevier, Stover Court, Bampfylde Street, Exeter, Devon, EX 1 2 AH, United Kingdom.
Tel.: +44 (0) 1392 285 819
Fax: +44 (0) 1392 425 370

Authors can also keep track of the progress of their accepted article, and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by using ''Track your accepted article'' option on the journal's homepage http://ees.elsevier.com/locate/ijoa .
For privacy, information on each article is password-protected. The author should key in the ''Our Reference'' code (which is in the letter to acknowledgement sent by the Publisher on receipt of the accepted article) and the name of the corresponding author.