I have been given the privilege of being the first Editor-in- Chief of Birth and Growth Medical Journal, from which I will be stepping down at the end of march 2025.This journal, initially called Nascer e Crescer, started its publication on March 1992 in Hospital de Crianças Maria Pia, in Porto, and its scope was the field of Pediatrics. The Editorial Board included pediatricians from the hospitals of the north of Portugal and the Scientific Committee had the collaboration of national and international experts from several pediatric specialities. At that time, there were very few national pediatric publications and the pediatric community felt the need of sharing knowledge, promoting pos graduate education and scientific research. It had four issues per year and employed a rigorous double-blind peer review process for the evaluation of manuscript and rapidly became one of the most read national pediatric Journals, indexed in several data bases.

The merging of Hospital de Crianças Maria Pia in the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto in 2010 and the integration of Nascer e Crescer in the Department of Education and Training-DEFI, represented an opportunity for change and development with innovative solutions to improve the publication.

The aim and scope enlarged to include maternal-fetal, neonatal and pediatric health, fostering collaboration between the various disciplines related to maternal and childcare.

The widespread use of the internet and the evolution of digital technology transformed dramatically scientific publication: the pressure to move to on-line printing and the shift from subscription to open access (OA) models. The new technologies enable the communication of research more quickly, broadly and openly and provide resources (enhanced media, data, linked resources, etc) only possible in a digital form. As most of Medical Journals we gradually moved from a printed format to a hybrid process (electronic and printed) and then to exclusively to online printing.

The Journal integrated the Scientific Open Access Repository of Portugal (RCAAP) particularly the Scientific Journal Hosting Service (SARC). The service provides a publication and management platform, including on line submission and manuscript tracking, through the website https://revistas.rcaap.pt/nascercrescer. Electronic submission substantially reduces editorial processing and shortens reviewing and overall publication times and allows monitoring by authors of the peer review process.

In 2017, we faced a new challenge: the publication in English language in order to increase the visibility of the publication and thereby enhance global communication and collaboration in the scientific community worldwide. The title of the Journal also reflected this evolution and was changed to Nascer e Crescer- Birth and Growth Medical Journal.

One of the major difficulties in the editorial activity is the difficulty of finding suitable reviewers. Peer review is a fundamental pillar of editorial quality, but the shortage of available experts and the pressure on researchers to publish have made this process increasingly complex. The search for qualified reviewers who can provide critical and constructive analysis is a constant challenge. I am so grateful to all our reviewers and their generosity for giving their time to increase the quality of our submissions.

The success of this journal represents a teamwork and would not be possible without the support and encouragement of the Presidents of the Hospital, namely Fernando Sollari Allegro, MD and, at present, Paulo Barbosa, MD, and the Directors of DEFI Margarida Lima, MD, PhD, Luísa Lobato, MD, PhD and at the moment Idalina Beirão, MD, PHD.

My position as Editor-in -chief will be filled by Maria do Sameiro Faria, MD,PHD who has been working closely with us and I am sure that her enthusiasm and proactivity will overcome the future challenges of Medical publishing, namely indexing in PubMed. This is a crucial project because it ensures that articles are easily accessible to researchers and healthcare professionals. Inclusion in PubMed is also a sign that the research is considered relevant, which can increase the visibility and impact of the published work.

Being Editor in chief of Nascer e Crescer- Birth and Growth Medical Journal has been a rewarding experience for me and an important part of my career.

Thanks to all who contributed to Nascer e Crescer- Birth and Growth Medical Journal.