Dear readers, editors and researchers:
The word “psychosomatic” may not have the same meaning for everybody, but obstetric and gynecological conditions always have interconnected organic-biological, social and psychic components, no matter which is more apparent or able to be studied or treated.
ISPOG, founded in the 1960s, along with this journal which was started more than 30 years ago, offers an international congress every three years, the last one being in Berlin, Germany in May 2013; the next one in Granada, Spain in May 2016; and the following in Seoul, Korea in 2019.
Our society is now a lively global organization, offering a bridge between different approaches, promoting interdisciplinary exchange. It is a platform for mutual understanding and education connecting obstetricians, gynecologists, perinatologists, midwives and nurses with scholars in the social sciences, psychology, psychiatry and psychoanalysis.
Our identity is based on mutual respect between these different cultures and subjectivities. At the moment, ISPOG hosts 19 national societies which are listed on our web page www.ispog.org.
We are helping professionals in countries without POG societies to start their own, and encouraging national obstetrics and gynecologic societies to include psychosomatic committees or to link with the groups that work within the same philosophy.
In the last decade, ISPOG has promoted stronger links with international societies like FIGO, EBCOG, ENTOG, IAWMH, Marcé, ISGE, IMS and others that share common fields of interest, offering standards of care, workshops and symposia in order to connect professionals and enhance the education of women’s healthcare providers. ISPOG representatives have held Symposia in FIGO World Congresses in Cape Town (2009) and Rome (2012), as well as regional congresses for FIGO in Colombia (2013) and EBCOG in Estonia (2012).
General obstetrician-gynecologists and subspecialists in fertility, perinatology, sexology, genetics, menopause, oncology and other related fields must have up-to-date research and proper tools to respond to each woman’s unique demands, needs and rights, while respecting local cultures and subjectivities and enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration. This is what ISPOG offers, and the Journal is one of its cornerstones, reflecting the scientific production which underpins up-to-date medicine.
In our next term, we aim to continue growing and expanding as a bridge: between East and West, Europe and the Americas, and between research and clinical settings. Interdisciplinary work will be stimulated within national societies.
Even though a sub-specialization is possible for some interested professionals, psychosomatic medicine must inform the daily practice of obstetrician-gynecologists, family physicians, midwives and nurses globally. This will be accomplished through our participation in the FIGO and EBCOG activities with more symposia and workshops and by supporting national POG societies with clinical and scientific research and tools.
The Educational Committee will produce an educational tool for all the societies that influence medical teaching and procedures in obstetrics and gynecology. In order to promote access to a psychosomatic approach which fulfills the needs of patients, we will develop an e-learning academy, with the aims outlined in the box below:
To serve as a platform for exchange of knowledge while considering cultural differences and local characteristics
To provide theoretical basis, teaching materials, andspecific tools that may serve as a reference for all national societies, and that may be incorporated into the teaching of residents and continuous medical education for all health professionals in obstetrics-gynecology
To promote clinical discussions within the activity of the national societies; and
To provide access via webcast to the talks from psychosomatic symposia and congresses.
The Chronic Pelvic Pain working group led by the German POG Society has already produced a document included in ISPOG Standards of Care.
More committees to come will act as liaison with the above mentioned societies: Perinatology (including psychosomatic obstetrics, preparation for childbirth, fear, depression, PTSD), Menopause, Sexology, Bioethics in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Contraception-Fertility-Abortion, Psycho-oncology in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Epistemology, Philosophy, Medical Ethics, Occupational Safety and Medical Law.
We will have precise guidelines about sponsorship and declarations of interest (on submitted abstracts as well as during presentations) in the congresses.
The Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology’s responsibility in its role within ISPOG is to be more available for everyone, and to keep the scientific standards that have increased its impact factor in the last years. With the help of all we will increase this fruitful collaboration.