Brazelton Centre UK

Who we are

Our charity’s work was inspired by the work of the outstanding paediatrician, Dr T Berry Brazelton. 

Dr Brazelton’s pioneering work carved the way for a deeper understanding of baby behaviour in the field of paediatrics and caused a paradigm-shift in how newborn babies are perceived. His ground-breaking research led to new insights, meaning that babies are now regarded as unique individuals who are able to communicate from birth.

After decades of research, Dr Brazelton and colleagues developed the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS) which is now widely used to assess a new baby’s responses to stimuli, such as turning their head toward a voice or following a ball with their eyes.Through using the NBAS, a practitioner can look at a wide range of behaviours and at the end of the assessment develop a behavioural "portrait" of the baby's strengths, adaptive responses and possible vulnerabilities.

The NBAS has contributed to the universal recognition of newborn babies as complex, self-directed individuals with their own personalities, strengths and challenges.

We are greatly indebted to the work of the late Dr T Berry Brazelton and are very inspired by his approach. 

At the Brazelton Centre UK, we are committed to ensuring Dr Brazelton’s legacy lives on and that we continue to improve the lives of newborn babies and their families for years to come.

The Brazelton Centre UK exists to benefit families of newborn babies. It does this through the provision of training courses in baby behaviour and communication to health professionals and through providing antenatal classes to vulnerable families, in partnership with local health and community agencies.

The charity aims to promote healthy parent-baby relationships through an understanding of baby behaviour. Our objective is to promote the better care and upbringing of infants for the public benefit by developing and disseminating knowledge of baby behaviour and early parent-baby relationships.