Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: Prevalence and associated factors of circumcision among daughters of reproductive aged  
women in the Hababo Guduru District, Western Ethiopia: a cross -sectional study  
 
Version: 0 Date: 30 Nov 2015  
 
Reviewer: Louise Terry  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
This is an interesting paper and it was pleasing to see that a power calculation has been 
performed and clear attention paid to the study design and the Cronbach's alpha of the survey 
instrument is at an acceptable level (nearly 0.8 and many stats books  consider 0.7 to be 
acceptable).  To attract more readers, the abstract needs to make it clear that the Orthodox 
religion referred to is the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church. Many Western readers associate 
FGM with Islam so a paper that reports on high incidence of FGM in a Christian African country 
is unusual and will challenge preconceptions. In the paper itself, I suggest having a paragraph 
that gives an overview of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church, how it sits with regards to 
Protestantism, Ro man Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox churches of Greece and Russia.  
 
 
There is a flawed conclusion regarding the older mothers - I think this is relates to how the 
sentence is constructed than demonstrating any overall weakness in analysis. The sentence  at 
Line 288 suggests that as women age, they become more conservative in their values. This may 
be true but the association that has been found in the survey is just as likely, if not more likely, to 
be that older mothers have themselves been raised in a more conservative environment than the 
younger mothers so their values are likely to have remained stable rather than changed as they 
aged.  
 
 
There are some weaknesses in your use of English. Avoid the use of word contraction such as 
couldn't, didn't, can' t. These are colloquial and should not be employed in academic writing as 
not all international readers will be familiar with them. At line 288, you mean '...whereas...' Not 
'...where are as...'. At line 75 and in the abstract, refer to 'second -ranked Afri can country' not 
'second African country''. Line 85 should read '...daughter's circumcision was made...'. Line 113 
should read '...every 4th mother was...'. Line 114 should be '...one circumcised daughter...' not 
'daughter's'.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an  
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further  
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
I am able to assess the statistics  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Needs some l anguage corrections before being published  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following qu estions:  
 
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an  
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of this  
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2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation that may in any way gain or lose  
financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the  
manuscript?  
 
4. Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that 
holds  or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6. Do you have any non -financial com peting interests in relation to this paper?  
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing interests' 
below.  
If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
I declare that I have no competing interests  
 
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