title: The competent newborn and the neonatal behavioral assessment scale: T. Berry Brazelton's legacy.
abstract: This article celebrates Berry Brazelton's extraordinary contribution to our understanding of child development by focusing on two representative themes. The first is that newborns are competent and organized from the very beginning and that the neonate is in a dynamic rather than passive relationship with the environment. The second is the recognition that the newborn period is an extremely sensitive stage in the transition to parenthood and as such may be the intervention "touchpoint" par excellence for professionals who are dedicated to giving children and families the best possible start in life.
authors.affiliation: Brazelton Institute, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. kevin.nugent@childrens.harvard.edu
authors.forename: J Kevin
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Nugent
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000266:history* / Q000592:standards*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000266:history* / Q000295:instrumentation*
keywords: Intervention; NBAS; NBO; T. Berry Brazelton; newborn behavior