Iceland

by Stafanía Birna Arnardóttir

This year our NBO-RCT research study was completed. Participants were expectant mothers with a score on the EPDS > 9 in late pregnancy, or who had a history of depression and/or anxiety. Three NBO home visits were conducted, while the control group received service as usual. Follow-up at 4 months post-delivery involves a video of mother and baby in their daily routine at their home, using the Emotional Availability Scale (EAS) from Zeynep Biringen. Data analysis is ongoing. The results will be presented in NFSU in Copenhagen, Autumn 2020. For 2020 we are planning to have a third NBO course in Iceland. We hope to raise some funding to decrease the cost for participants. We plan to implement the NBO in one health care center and compare it with service as usual in another quarter of Reykjavik. From January 2020 our private clinic, Center for Parents and Infants, will be part of the social health care system in Reykjavik and located in one to three health care stations in the capital. As a result of that I want to become a trainer for NBO and to bring that knowledge into our primary care system. Finally, consultants from the Nordic country have begun a collaboration between the Nordic countries in order to analyse and look for what service babies get in the health- and social services in the Nordic countries during the First 1001 days. Our colleague, Kari Slinning is involved in this study in Norway. Hopefully we´ll introduce the NBO over the next ten years in all pre- and post-partum services for infants.