Peer Review History

Original SubmissionApril 3, 2024
Decision Letter - Solomon Tesfay, Editor

PONE-D-24-05417Exploring Galactagogue Use Among Breastfeeding Women: Insights from a Cross-Sectional StudyPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Nowicki,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Aug 30 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

  • A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
  • A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
  • An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Solomon Tesfay

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal requirements:

When submitting your revision, we need you to address these additional requirements.

1. Please ensure that your manuscript meets PLOS ONE's style requirements, including those for file naming. The PLOS ONE style templates can be found at

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=wjVg/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_main_body.pdf and

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=ba62/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_title_authors_affiliations.pdf

2. We note that the grant information you provided in the ‘Funding Information’ and ‘Financial Disclosure’ sections do not match.

When you resubmit, please ensure that you provide the correct grant numbers for the awards you received for your study in the ‘Funding Information’ section.

3. In the online submission form you indicate that your data is not available for proprietary reasons and have provided a contact point for accessing this data. Please note that your current contact point is a co-author on this manuscript. According to our Data Policy, the contact point must not be an author on the manuscript and must be an institutional contact, ideally not an individual. Please revise your data statement to a non-author institutional point of contact, such as a data access or ethics committee, and send this to us via return email. Please also include contact information for the third party organization, and please include the full citation of where the data can be found.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: Thank you for taking the time to consider me as a potential reviewer for your manuscript. After carefully analyzing the content, I believe that my input could significantly strengthen the manuscript. I have identified several areas that could benefit from further clarification and expansion, and I am confident that my comments could help enhance the overall quality of the work.

The exact questions or the nature of the questions should be outlined. If the questionnaire included both closed and open questions or was divided into sections, this should be described in details.

Any instructions that have been given on how to complete the questionnaire should be provided to ensure consistency in how participants respond.

Any steps taken to validate or test the questionnaire before its final distribution should be mentioned.

Specifics on how the online distribution was carried out, such as through specific forums, social media platforms, or emails, can help understand the reach and potential biases in data collection.

Information on response rates, any reminders sent to participants, or strategies used to maximize response rates should be described.

How data confidentiality was ensured beyond the anonymity stated.

The rationale behind choosing an online distribution method and Google Forms.

Reviewer #2: Thank you for the opportunity to review this paper.

The study presented is the results of an online survey in which 52 women participated. Unfortunately, it is not a cross-sectional study, as the title suggests.

In a cross-sectional study, the study would measure the outcome and the exposures in the participants at the same time - this does not appear to have been what occurred in this study - as participants either were breastfeeding at the time of the study or had breastfed in the past (and I assume taken or not taken galactagogues at these other points as well). It is also unclear what population was studied as no details were provided on how the survey was distributed aside from "online" - I assume participants were from Poland?

In its current form, with limited details about the study design (and erroneously labelled as a cross-sectional study) and responses from only 52 women, it is not possible, in my opinion, to recommend the paper for publication.

**********

6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: Yes: Ziyad Saeed Almalki

Reviewer #2: No

**********

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Revision 1

Authors' Response to the Reviewers' Comments

Journal: PLOS ONE

Title: Exploring Galactagogue Use Among Breastfeeding Women: Insights from an Observa-tional Study

Authors: Agnieszka Garbacz, Paweł Juszczak, Marcin Nowicki, Przemysław Kowalczewski, and Magdalena Człapka-Matyasik

Dear PLOS ONE Reviewers and Editors,

We would like to extend our gratitude for your valuable feedback and constructive criticism of our manuscript titled "Exploring Galactagogue Use Among Breastfeeding Women: Insights from an Observational Study". Your time, effort, and expertise in reviewing our work are greatly appreciated.

We have carefully considered the comments and suggestions provided. We are pleased to inform you that we have addressed all the concerns raised and have made appropriate revisions to improve the quality and clarity of the manuscript. Your insightful remarks have contributed to enhancing our report's overall coherence and rigour. We are truly grateful for your thorough examination and thoughtful recommendations, which have strengthened the scholarly integrity of our work.

Please find attached the revised version of our manuscript with detailed responses to each reviewer’s comments. Thank you once again for your time, expertise, and continued support. 

Reviewer 1 – Dr. Ziyad Saeed Almalki

The exact questions or the nature of the questions should be outlined. If the questionnaire included both closed and open questions or was divided into sections, this should be described in details. Information on the type of questions, nature of the questions and division into sections was added and can be found in lines 127-136.

Any instructions that have been given on how to complete the questionnaire should be provided to ensure consistency in how participants respond. Information has been added - line 127-130.

Any steps taken to validate or test the questionnaire before its final distribution should be mentioned. Information has been added - line 114.

Specifics on how the online distribution was carried out, such as through specific forums, social media platforms, or emails, can help understand the reach and potential biases in data collection. Information on how to distribute the questionnaire was added - lines 94-101.

Information on response rates, any reminders sent to participants, or strategies used to maximize response rates should be described. The questionnaire was distributed via the Internet as a link. Due to the lack of a maximum number/quantity of sheets sent out, it is not possible to calculate a response rate. Information concerning reminders was placed in lines 99-101.

How data confidentiality was ensured beyond the anonymity stated. Google Forms numbered completed questionnaires according to order; they were filled by respondents. Despite filling out a questionnaire created in Google Forms, the respondent did not provide email address. The design of questionnaires created in google forms ensures complete anonymity when the option 'do not collect email addresses' is selected). This condition was met and was indicated in the work (line 90-93).

The rationale behind choosing an online distribution method and Google Forms. Justification for the choice of the online distribution method is provided in the revised text - Lines 287-297.

Google Forms allows to create an easy-to-use questionnaire, which is also easy to share. The tool is free, but the created questionnaire can be attractively personalized - for example, by placing questions in different formats. What's more, the data collected through the questionnaire is stored on Google servers (backups possible).

Reviewer 2 - Anonymous

The study presented is the results of an online survey in which 52 women participated. Unfortunately, it is not a cross-sectional study, as the title suggests.

In a cross-sectional study, the study would measure the outcome and the exposures in the participants at the same time - this does not appear to have been what occurred in this study - as participants either were breastfeeding at the time of the study or had breastfed in the past (and I assume taken or not taken galactagogues at these other points as well). Thank you for this comment; we replaced the cross-sectional with observational.

Nevertheless, we would like to point out that cross-sectional studies include surveys and health assessments conducted to determine the proportion of individuals with certain conditions or behaviours at a given time. The key features of cross-sectional studies, in our feeling we had filled, include:

1. Single Point in Time: Data were collected from participants at one specific time.

2. Prevalence Measurement: They were used to measure the prevalence of intake galactagogues at certain time in life (breastfeeding)

3. Association Identification: They could help identify associations between using/knowledge of galactagogues, background, residence, etc., but they do not establish causality.

4. Observational Nature: We observed and recorded information without manipulating the study environment or subjects.

5. Population Representation: They aimed to provide a snapshot representing a larger population.

It is also unclear what population was studied as no details were provided on how the survey was distributed aside from "online" – I assume participants were from Poland? Information on how to distribute the questionnaire was added (line 94-101). We cannot assume that all respondents were from Poland. The questionnaire was distributed via the Internet using the snowball method. It could be filled out by respondents who no longer live in Poland (the questionnaire was in Polish). All those info was pointed.

Attachments
Attachment
Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx
Decision Letter - Solomon Tesfay, Editor

Exploring Galactagogue Use Among Breastfeeding Women: Insights from an Observational Study

PONE-D-24-05417R1

Dear Dr. Nowicki,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice will be generated when your article is formally accepted. Please note, if your institution has a publishing partnership with PLOS and your article meets the relevant criteria, all or part of your publication costs will be covered. Please make sure your user information is up-to-date by logging into Editorial Manager at Editorial Manager® and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. If you have any questions relating to publication charges, please contact our Author Billing department directly at authorbilling@plos.org.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Solomon Tesfay

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Formally Accepted
Acceptance Letter - Solomon Tesfay, Editor

PONE-D-24-05417R1

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Nowicki,

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now being handed over to our production team.

At this stage, our production department will prepare your paper for publication. This includes ensuring the following:

* All references, tables, and figures are properly cited

* All relevant supporting information is included in the manuscript submission,

* There are no issues that prevent the paper from being properly typeset

If revisions are needed, the production department will contact you directly to resolve them. If no revisions are needed, you will receive an email when the publication date has been set. At this time, we do not offer pre-publication proofs to authors during production of the accepted work. Please keep in mind that we are working through a large volume of accepted articles, so please give us a few weeks to review your paper and let you know the next and final steps.

Lastly, if your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

If we can help with anything else, please email us at customercare@plos.org.

Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

Kind regards,

PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff

on behalf of

Dr. Solomon Tesfay

%CORR_ED_EDITOR_ROLE%

PLOS ONE

Open letter on the publication of peer review reports

PLOS recognizes the benefits of transparency in the peer review process. Therefore, we enable the publication of all of the content of peer review and author responses alongside final, published articles. Reviewers remain anonymous, unless they choose to reveal their names.

We encourage other journals to join us in this initiative. We hope that our action inspires the community, including researchers, research funders, and research institutions, to recognize the benefits of published peer review reports for all parts of the research system.

Learn more at ASAPbio .