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How our bursaries have made a difference around the world

It has been a delight to see practitioners and researchers from around the world accessing our Reach Beyond bursary which funds training in the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale and the Newborn Behavioural Observations system.

Click on the round markers to learn more about the impact our bursaries have had on some of the bursary winners and the families they care for around the world.

(If you are viewing this page on a mobile, tilt your screen into landscape orientation to view a larger scale of the map below)

Tijan Federa The Gambia

Bursary and year received: Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale – 2018

Profession: Field Research Assistant

Locality: MRC Field Station

City/region: Keneba

Photo credit: Ian Farrell the BRIGHT project

“This is not magic, this is something that we need to continue doing and it will have a great impact on the future.”

Asmaa Sadek Egypt

Bursary and year received: Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale – 2021

Profession: Consultant Neonatologist and Founder

Locality: LactAid Center

City/region: Cairo

Asmaa has gone on to support many others in Egypt in their Brazelton training and certification!

“The NBAS training gave me more respect for babies: as human beings from day 0, and not just day 0 but from in utero. What we see in the baby on day 0 is a reflection of the in utero life.”

Dyah Tri Kusuma Dewi Indonesia

Bursary and year received: Newborn Behavioural Observations – 2022

Profession: Midwife

Locality: Asri Medical Center, Muhammadiyah Hospital

City/region: Yogyakarta City

Dang Thi Thuy My Vietnam

Bursary and year received: Newborn Behavioural Observations – 2022

Profession: Paediatric Nurse and Lecturer

Locality: Tra Vinh Pediatric and Obstetric Hospital and Tra Vinh University

City/region: Trà Vinh

“Some parents think the baby just hears when over one month. When I share with them the baby can also look and see a red ball, when I share they are really interested as they thought this was not developed yet…”

Linos Muhvu Zimbabwe

Bursary and year received: Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale – 2022

Profession: Family Therapist

Locality: Society for Pre and Post Natal Services’ (SPANS) and rural clinics.

City/region: Harare and Goromonzi district

“In the NBAS we are saying behaviour is the language for the child, we need them to say, to communicate using their behaviour… Society is built by families, if the family is dysfunctional then society is dysfunctional. We need to understand the importance of focus on the baby and include them in the discussion.”

Nidhi Gupta India

Bursary and year received: Newborn Behavioural Observations – 2021

Profession: Consultant in Neonatology

Locality: Amrita Hospital

City/region: Faridabad

“A big thank you to Brazelton Centre UK for granting me a bursary to train in the Newborn Behavioural Observations (NBO). Being granted a funded place was a God sent opportunity to do this valuable course, which otherwise may not have been possible.

I find the NBO a very special tool especially in the NICU strengthening the bond between mothers and their little ones. Having trained in structured neurodevelopmental assessments in UK, I was used to scores and labelling a baby to have a normal or abnormal examination. The NBO course taught me that there is much more beyond scores- it proved to be comforting for a mother who was stressed out and only seeing her baby for a few hours with restricted visiting policy in light of COVID. She was smiling seeing her baby follow faces and voices and seeing how strong her baby’s arms and legs are etc.

A mother told me during the session that she could never get her baby to do all the things that the baby did for me. I had to reiterate that this was not the case, rather the baby would respond and discriminate her voice from mine and others and respond to her the most.

I think NBO is the most wonderful way to demonstrate newborns’ amazing abilities with parents. Being trained in the NBO adds value to my true calling – following up high risk neonates. Thank you Brazelton Centre, UK for this wonderful opportunity. I will strongly recommend it to everyone who wants to see babies communicating.”

Olufunke Bolaji Nigeria

Bursary and year received: Newborn Behavioural Observations – 2023

Profession: Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist

Locality: Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti

City/region: Ekiti State

Hannan Deeb Jordan

Bursary and year received: Newborn Behavioural Observations – 2022

Profession: Paediatric Physiotherapist

Locality: Our Lady of Peace Center for Persons with Disabilities

City/region: Amman

“Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Wafiqa (Hannan) Deeb, serving as the Director of Rehabilitation, Education, and Development at Our Lady Of Peace Center for persons with disabilities. I am deeply committed to my profession, which focuses on elevating the quality of life for people with disabilities, particularly infants and children, in Jordan.

I am honoured to have been selected as the recipient of your esteemed Reach Beyond Bursary in 2022. My participation in the NBO course was an incredibly fulfilling experience. I found the NBO to be an invaluable resource, one that is essential for our practice, not only in early intervention but across various disciplines that require such profound insights into infant behavior and development. “