We estimated changes in the prevalence of chronic hypertension among pregnant women and evaluated the extent to which changes in obesity and smoking were associated with these trends. We designed a population-based cross-sectional analysis of over 151 million women with delivery-related hospitalizations in the United States, 1970 to 2010. Maternal age, year of delivery (period), and maternal year of birth (birth cohort), as well as race, were examined as risk factors for chronic hypertension. Prevalence rates and rate ratios with 95% CIs of chronic hypertension in relation to age, period, and birth cohort were derived through age-period-cohort models. We also examined how changes in obesity and smoking rates influenced age-period-cohort effects. The overall prevalence of chronic hypertension was 0.63%, with black women (1.24%) having more than a 2-fold higher rate than white women (0.53%; rate ratio, 2.31; 95% CI, 2.30–2.32). In the age-period-cohort analysis, the rate of chronic hypertension increased sharply with advancing age and period from 0.11% in 1970 to 1.52% in 2010 (rate ratio, 13.41; 95% CI, 13.22–13.61). The rate of hypertension increased, on average, by 6% (95% CI, 5–6) per year, with the increase being slightly higher among white (7%; 95% CI, 6%–7%) than black (4%; 95% CI, 3%–4%) women. Adjustments for changes in rates of obesity and smoking were not associated with age and period effects. We observed a substantial increase in chronic hypertension rates by age and period and an over 2-fold race disparity in chronic hypertension rates.

E valuative bibliometrics is a field of quantitative science that uses methodologies like citation analysis to evaluate research performance. 1 Citation analysis utilizes citation data to quantify the impact of research as a reflection of the number of references that an article receives over time. An article that is highly cited has been critically read, deemed of value, and used to promote and defend research. This type of bibliometric analysis is especially important in the modern context with the existence of predatory journals and variations in the peer review process. 2 Using citation analysis and other quantitative methodologies, bibliometrics can identify the most impactful papers in a journal's history. Published bibliometric studies have evaluated frequently cited papers in obstetrics and gynecology and other fields of medicine. 3e5 These studies provide insight into the important topics of each field and highlight the contributions of individual researchers and institutions. These studies can also focus on individual journals, identifying some of the most influential papers in a journal's history. 6 The Journal has published scientific articles for close to 150 years. During this time, the Journal published landmark papers that shaped the scope and practice of obstetrician-gynecologists. 3,7 In its current form, the Journal's influence extends across continents, reaching more than 43,000 readers in print and online each year. 8 The Journal is now one of the most impactful obstetrics and gynecology journals, ranked second to Human Reproduction Update and is the top-ranked publisher of original research in the field. 7 To date, there has not been a bibliometric study of top-cited papers in the Journal. On the 150th anniversary of the Journal, we performed this study to identify the top-cited papers from the Journal and to see how characteristics of these publications changed over time. We hypothesized that the present analysis would identify a representative list of the Journal's most influential papers while also providing insight into the Journal's history and illuminating its impact on the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Materials and Methods We performed a bibliometric study looking at the top-cited articles in the Journal. We used Web of Science (of Thomas Reuters) and Scopus to identify the 100 most frequently cited articles in each database.

A father’s involvement in prenatal care engenders health benefits for both mothers and children. While this information can help practitioners improve family health, low paternal involvement in prenatal care remains a challenge. The present study tested a simple, easily scalable intervention to promote father involvement by increasing men’s feelings of comfort and expectations of involvement in prenatal settings through three randomized control trials. Borrowing from social psychological theory on identity safety, the three studies tested whether the inclusion of environmental cues that represent men and fatherhood in prenatal care offices influenced men’s beliefs and behavioral intentions during the perinatal period. Men in studies 1 and 3 viewed online videos of purported prenatal care offices, while men in study 2 visited the office in person. Those who viewed or were immersed in a father-friendly prenatal care office believed that doctors had higher expectations of father involvement compared to treatment-as-usual. This perception predicted greater parenting confidence, comfort, and behavioral intentions to learn about the pregnancy and engage in healthy habits, such as avoiding smoking and alcohol during their partner’s pregnancy. Study 3 replicated these studies with an online sample of expectant fathers. The results suggest that shifting environment office cues can signal fathering norms to men in prenatal settings, with healthier downstream behavior intentions.