Newborn Behavioural Observation (NBO)
The NBO is a brief observational scale looking at a mixture of reflexes and behaviours which are used to describe a newborns physiological, motor, state and social capacities. The main aim is to work with parents, to learn as much as possible about their baby through his/her behaviour.
The NBO allows the healthcare professional to reassure and provide ‘anticipatory guidance’ to build a positive parent child interaction, by working in partnership with the parents to improve bonding and attachment. The use of structured observation helps to identify strengths of the new born and thus facilitate development. As the parents gain an understanding of the 6 behavioural states, they will become more confident in utilising the babies’ non verbal cues to assist with care giving. The NBO is able to demonstrate how certain handling/postural adjustments can promote infants sleep, energy/calorie conservation to allow modulated behaviour/sleep-awake states.
The NBO can be done on any baby, aged between 36 weeks and 3 months and can be done in the home environment, ideally with both parents present. To arrange the NBO in your home environment, please click here .
The cost of the NBO assessment is £100.
To read more about how the NBO can be used and the benefits, please click here.
