Finnish-style baby boxes given to mums to cut cot deaths
- All new parents in Hackney, London, will receive the cardboard box
- It’s traditionally provided by the state in Finland along with baby products
- To be used as a bed, it is said to help the country’s low infant mortality rates
Claudia Tanner For Mailonline
View
comments
For 75 years, Finland’s expectant mothers have been given a cardboard box by the Government to keep their sleeping newborn safe and sound.
Now a borough in London is following suit.
All new parents in Hackney will soon be given a Finnish-style baby box, which is intended to be used instead of a cot or Moses basket for the first eight months of a child’s life.
The move is a bid to reduce the incidences of sudden infant death syndrome, known as cot death.
Experts say the small size of the boxes prevents babies from rolling onto their stomachs – placing a baby to sleep on their back is said to reduce the risk.
The practice has been credited with helping Finland achieve one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates.
All new parents in Hackney will receive the cardboard box traditionally provided by the state in Finland. To be used as a bed, it is said to help reduce infant mortality rates
The country has seen figures fall from 65 deaths per 1,000 births in 1938, when the boxes were introduced, to 2.3 per 1,000 births in 2015.
Britain’s infant mortality rate is 4.2 deaths per 1,000 births — only the 22nd best in Europe.
In the UK, just under 300 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly every year of suspected cot death.
-
A year of refusing to go to bed without taking a selfie:…
Suburban drug overdoses cause spike in premature deaths…
Now’s the time to get beach-body ready: 20 best fitness tips…
NHS ‘weekend effect’ IS real: Patients with broken hips are…
The boxes have also been trialled at hospitals including Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea, and North Middlesex, the Evening Standard reports.
The council’s health chief Jonathan McShane said: ‘After people see it is working in Hackney it will be picked up in other London boroughs. It’s all about pointing new mums in the right direction.’
Hackney will team up with US firm The Baby Box Co to introduce the boxes to new mothers before the autumn.
WHAT IS FINLAND’S BABY BOX?
For more than 75 years, Finland’s expectant mothers have been given a Baby Box by the state that serves as a starter kit for their new baby.
It contains clothes, blankets, and other newborn necessities, and the Baby Box itself–which is lined with a mattress–is used as the child’s first bed.
The Baby Box program has helped Finland achieve one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates.
The initiative enables every expecting woman in the country to claim a free Baby Box once she receives prenatal care and parenting information from a healthcare professional.
It is credited with helping to decrease Finland’s infant mortality rate from 65 deaths for each 1,000 children born in 1938 to 3 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013.
The tradition dates back to 1938. In the 1930s, Finland was a poor country and infant mortality was high, but the figures improved rapidly in the decades that followed.
Source: The Baby Box Co
They are likely to contain a maternity package including mattress, waterproof cover and cotton sheets, breast pads, wipes and nappies.
To obtain the free box, expectant parents who live in the borough need to complete an online education course on healthy habits and support services.
While NHS England say there are no plans yet to introduce a similar scheme city-wide across London, individual hospital trusts are considering handing out the boxes.
Scotland has been promised to benefit from the scheme this summer. Last week a hospital trust in Greater Manchester began giving out the boxes.
They are also common in the US, where earlier this year New Jersey became the first state to give them out for free.
But other countries, including Iceland and Japan, have similarly low infant mortality rates without using the boxes.
Some experts suggest it is the wider approach to healthcare that is more important than the box itself.
In Finland, the baby boxes were introduced in the 1930s when cot deaths were high – and it is thought their introduction contributed to the reduction in the infant mortality rate in the country.
Initially the boxes were only given to low income mothers – before the scheme was expanded to include all families.
Mothers can choose between the boxes – which contain clothes, a sleeping bag, bathing products, nappies and a small mattress – or a cash grant.
Most opt for the box as its value is higher than the money.
Share or comment on this article
- Moments after he was savaged by his OWN dog: Medics…
- Security threats, insults and a £50billion divorce bill:…
- ‘We said goodbye to a beloved son, brother and friend’:…
- EXCLUSIVE: ‘Are they going to be alright?’ Stunned…
- ‘It is time for Britain to come together’: May’s rallying…
- Hostess with the mostess! Melania dons $2,390 LBD as she…
- From model to meth addict to model again: America’s next…
- Places where HALF the GPs are failing: Best and worst…
- Muslim woman, 38, accused of having full sex with a…
- Ethiopian tribesmen compete to get as fat as possible by…
- Female motorcyclist wearing a high visibility vest is…
- Sir Elton John was ‘very upset’ at falling out with…
- Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend: Jewelry restorer…
- Shockingly childish behaviour! White man and black woman…
- Britain’s biggest brood is growing AGAIN: The Radford…
- From fresh-faced youngster to hardened criminal covered…
- Pound holds firm against US dollar and euro as May…
- Bristol University student, 21, is found hanged in a barn…
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
Close
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.
Your comment will be credited to your MailOnline persona.
Close
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.
The post will be credited to your MailOnline username. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.