May 26, 2000

Renowned pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, MD, and faculty members from the Brazelton Institute recently held a daylong course at the MGH about assessing newborn behavior. The training was only the second of its kind offered by the Brazelton Institute and was sponsored by the MassGeneral Hospital for Children's Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Newborn Nursery.

Eighteen MGH clinicians and other invited guests had the opportunity to learn about the Clinical Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, a newborn assessment tool for clinicians developed by Brazelton and his colleagues. The scale is used by clinicians and researchers to describe a baby's strengths, individuality, adaptive responses and possible vulnerabilities and is used to help strengthen the bond between parents and their children.

The training at the MGH included lectures about infant development, discussion of case studies and a demonstration of the assessment scale with families of newborns in the MGH Newborn Nursery. "One of the most essential roles of a pediatrician working with new families is to help them understand and accept their infant's behavior and temperament," says Suzanne Nash, MD, co-director of the MGH Newborn Nursery. "Using this assessment tool helps both parents and clinicians appreciate the amazing capabilities and uniqueness of their newborn infant."

Brazelton, who completed his residency at the MGH, still practices medicine at Children's Hospital and has written 26 books about child development.

From left, Marvin Wang, MD, co-director of the MGH
Newborn Nursery; Heather Kempezinski, MD, of
MassGeneral Hospital for Children; T. Berry Brazelton, MD;
and Suzanne Nash, MD, co-director of the MGH Newborn Nursery.