On December 1, 1949, 75 years ago, the first issue of the Revista Colombiana de Obstetricia y Ginecología (RCOG) was published (Figure 1). From that moment to the present day, the journal has documented the scientific and technological evolution of the specialty's practice in Colombia. It has also recorded moments of societal crises that impacted medical practice or the well-being of our patients. Below, we provide a brief summary of how these changes have been described in our pages over time. The intention is not to evaluate the validity or relevance of the publications but to present a chronological overview of when concepts, technologies, or emerging events were first published in the RCOG. In advance, we apologize if any authors are omitted in this inventory, as this is merely a concise summary of the many texts published over the years.

Figure 1
Over of the first issue of the Colombian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Source: Colombian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology archive.

In the 19S0s, publications focused on institutional experiences, case reports, and narrative reviews. At that time, cesarean section was not a common intervention, and obstetricians were primarily concerned with preparing women for childbirth and managing situations that prolonged labor. Obstetrics was considered more an art than a science. In 1950, Professor Rafael Ramírez Merchán from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia published on the use of forceps in posterior vertex presentations. That same year, mandatory social service for newly graduated physicians began, a health policy that improved healthcare in rural areas and enhanced physicians' competencies. In 1951, Dr. Manuel José Gómez Palacino reported on the use of oxytocin for labor induction in 50 patients. The proceedings of the First National Convention in Obstetrics and Gynecology were published in 1953. In 1957, Professor Carlos Roberto Silva Mojica and collaborators presented findings on the psychoprophylactic method for labor pain management in 135 pregnant women. Professor Benicio Gaviria Gaviria and collaborators reported perinatal mortality rates at the School of Medicine of the Universidad de Antioquia between 1957 and 1959, showing a mortality proportion of 7%. At that time, maternal mortality from toxemia or septic abortion and cervical cancer were the major public health problems affecting women. Around the same period, discussions emerged on the medical union risks associated with the creation of the the first public health management organization.

In the 1960s, articles focused on the modern management of preeclampsia-eclampsia and the advent of family planning in Colombia. In 1962, Professor Rogelio Arias from Panama presented a series of nine cases of surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence. In 1964, Professor Fernando Sánchez Torres from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia published on the management of intrapartum eclampsia. Subsequently, in collaboration with Professor Jesús Gómez Palacino and Dr. Hugo Guevara, they published on antepartum and postpartum eclampsia management at the Instituto Materno Infantil in Bogotá. In 1967, during the centennial celebration of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia of Colombia, Dr. Jürgen Haller presented a conference on the mechanism of action and long term effects of oral contraceptives. That same year, Professor Germán Riaño Gamboa analyzed 1,000 women who used intrauterine devices (IUDs) at the family planning center. The RCOG was included in Index Medicus and Medline, where it remained between 1965 and 1971.

In the 1970s, ultrasound emerged as a non-invasive diagnostic technique, representing a major advance in obstetrics by enabling objective assessments of fetal well-being. Professors Édgar Cobo and Saulo Muñoz from the Universidad del Valle, alongside collaborators, conducted a study on high-risk obstetrics at the Universidad del Valle and the Social Security Institute in Cali. In 1972, Dr. Antonio Giraldo and collaborators reported on institutional experience with colposcopy in 260 patients for diagnosing preneoplasic disease at the Hospital Universitario de Caldas. In 1973, Professor Jorge Medina Murillo coordinated the Consensus on the Intrauterine Fetal Environment. In 1975, Dr. Miguel Pulido shared institutional experience with 1,000 cases of laparoscopic tubal ligation at Pro-Familia in Bogotá, and Professor Álvaro Velazco Chiriboga from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia introduced an unlocking obstetrical forceps (spatulas) bearing his name as a technological innovation. In 1978, Dr. Luis Carlos Jiménez and collaborators described the use of ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology, and Professor Francisco Pardo Vargas from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana detailed its use in detecting breast pathology.

In the 1980s, the world witnessed the onset of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. Infection became the leading cause of maternal mortality in Colombia, not only due to septic abortion but also because of the increase in puerperal infections associated with cesarean sections. Cesarean delivery became increasingly frequent due to a better understanding of fetal well-being, the risks to the fetus during preterm vaginal delivery, and dystocic presentations. In 1981, Professor Armando Lozano from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and collaborators published on the mortality, classification, and treatment of septic abortion at the Instituto Materno Infantil. In 1987, Professor Jaime Botero Uribe and collaborators presented a series of 103 cases of microinvasive cervical carcinoma at the Hospital San Vicente de Paul in Medellín. In 1986, Dr. Hermes Jaimes from Bucaramanga and collaborators reported on intrauterine gamete transfer in 177 patients during his fellowship at the University of California. In 1988, Dr. Germán Uriza from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana reflected on adolescent sexuality and the need for gynecologists to address this issue to reduce teenage pregnancy rates.

In the 1990s, the association between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer was demonstrated, minimally invasive surgery in gynecology gained prominence, and routine prophylactic antibiotics were adopted in obstetric and gynecological surgery. Colombia transitioned from the National Health System to the General System of Social Health Security (GSSHS). In 1992, nurse María Consuelo Castrillón and collaborators published their qualitative-quantitative study on the quality of childbirth services in various institutions in Medellín. In 1993, Dr. Jorge Martínez published an editorial on perinatal HIV transmission. In 1994, Dr. Hernán Urdaneta and collaborators presented a study on the prevalence of HPV in precancerous lesions and cervical cancer at the Hospital Militar Central in Bogotá. That same year, Dr. Manuel Oswaldo Gómez reported the Doppler normality curves of the umbilical artery during pregnancy in a Spanish population. Also in 1994, Dr. Juan Manuel Acuña and collaborators published a narrative review on early screening techniques for genetic and acquired congenital abnormalities. In 1995, Dr. Fernando Del Corral and Jaime Saavedra published a cohort study of 122 infertile women with endometriosis exposed to conservative management versus video-laparoscopy with CO2 laser for endometriosis. During this period, concerns were already being raised about the sustainability of public hospitals under the new GSSHS model.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the first mention of diagnostic use of molecular biology techniques was made, minimally invasive surgery techniques became more widespread, sentence C-355 of the Colombian Constitutional Court, which decriminalized voluntary interruption of pregnancy in Colombia, was promulgated. In 2000, Professor Jaime

Saavedra from the Universidad del Valle published the criteria for training, certification, and accreditation in laparoscopic surgery in gynecology. In 2001, Dr. Alejandro Giraldo and collaborators described the use of nucleic acid amplification tests for Toxoplasma gondii in 534 pregnant women at the Fundación Gillow in Bogotá. That same year, Dr. Juan Carlos Sabogal conducted a narrative review on the use of three-dimensional ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology. In 2002, Dr. Andrés Sarmiento made some ethical considerations on obstetric practice within the framework of the GSSHS in Colombia. In 2004, Dr. Elkin Lucena and collaborators published their case report on pregnancy achieved with vitrified human oocytes. In 2009, Dr. Adriana Vélez Álvarez and collaborators from the Universidad de Antioquia published the Red Code Guideline for managing obstetric hemorrhage. In line with changes in scientific publications worldwide, the RCOG updated its publication format.

In the second decade of the current century, the HPV vaccine became a reality, genomic studies were conducted, and violence against women and extreme maternal morbidity gained relevance, becoming focal points of attention. On the national level, Statutory Law 1751 was promulgated, regulating the fundamental right to health. The course and conclusion of the peace process in Colombia were recorded, as well as the "Misión de sabios (Mission of Sages)" that was conducted to define the future of science and technology in the country. In 2010, Professor Pío Iván Gómez from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and collaborators published some reflections on the experience of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) strategy for the prevention of unsafe abortion in Colombia, and Professor José Jaime Castaño Castrillón and collaborators published a study on the prevalence of sexual harassment in the student community at the Universidad de Caldas. Professor Mario Arturo González from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia discussed the relevance of the HPV vaccination as a public health policy in the country in 2011. That same year, Dr. Andrés Felipe Castro and collaborators from the Universidad del Quindío published their study on the application of genomics in breast cancer, and Professor José Antonio Rojas from the Universidad de Cartagena and collaborators published a study on the incidence of "near miss" morbidity at the Maternidad Rafael Calvo in Cartagena. Starting in 2013, the National Clinical Practice Guidelines and specialty consensus documents were published, and in response to the global increase in cesarean births, the Federación Colombiana de Obstetricia y Ginecología (Colombian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology - FECOLSOG) developed a national consensus on the rational use of cesarean sections in Colombia in 2014. The RCOG primarily publishes studies based on modern epidemiology methodologies and qualitative research. It began publishing case reports with literature reviews. Also, it transitioned from print to digital publishing, incorporated ethical review, added digital plagiarism detection processes, adhered to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and joined the open access movement. Besides, in 2019, the RCOG was included again in Medline via PubMed.

The year 2020 saw the world transform with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, big data, and artificial intelligence. In that year, Dr. Claudia Benavides and collaborators published a cohort study on the safety of total laparoscopic hysterectomy in Pereira. In 2021, Dr. Jonathan Alexander Peralta and collaborators published a mixed-methods study on the effects of sexual and reproductive health on victims of the armed conflict in Chocó. In 2022, Dr. Alama Iris Zúñiga from Honduras presented perinatal results from a cohort of pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 infection, and Dr. Nicolás Rozo Agudelo and Sebastián Daza Agudelo from Fundación Universitaria Sanitas published a study on the frequency of instrumental vaginal deliveries in Colombia between 2015-2019 using administrative record databases. In 2023, the RCOG adhered to the policies of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding the use of artificial intelligence in scientific publications, entered PubMed Central and EMBASE in 2024, and became available in the following databases: SciELO, Redalyc, Scopus, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Red Iberoamericana de Innovación y Conocimiento Científico (REDIB), and Publindex.

Finally, we want to highlight that the RCOG represents a valuable asset for medicine and our specialty in the country. This heritage has been built over the last 75 years by the editors of the RCOG with the sustained support of the presidents and boards of the former Colombian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SCOG), now FECOLSOG, the entity to which the RCOG belongs and serves as it's scientific dissemination media. The committed work of the editorial committee, the authors, the peer reviewers, the editorial management team, the administrative team, the advisory board and the general manager of the Federation are the architects of the construction of this intellectual capital, currently growing due to its increasing visibility.

As a result, we are receiving an increasing number of manuscripts for consideration for publication. The goal of the RCOG team will be to ensure the validity and scientific and editorial quality of our publications, responding in a timely manner to the expectations of authors submitting their manuscripts. Simultaneously, we wish to share the accumulated knowledge in editorial management with our colleagues, to further strengthening the editorial committee of the journal and the editorial processes through the participation of FECOLSOG members from different regions of the country who are interested in the editing and publishing processes of the RCOG.

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*Correspondence: Revista Colombiana de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Federación Colombiana de Obstetricia y Ginecología (FECOLSOG), Cra. 15 # 98-42, Bogotá (Colombia). rcog@fecolsog.org