Ever heard of a Baby Box? We hadn’t either until recently. That’s not the case in Finland, where the government has been handing them out to new mothers for 75 years.
We talked to our friends at Sav-A-Life Pregnancy Test Center in Birmingham, Alabama, to see if they knew about the boxes. They hadn’t, but they were intrigued.
We first partnered with Sav-A-Life last year after Janice Johnson reached out to us. The center offers free childbirth classes, so we donated 150 of our The Gift of Motherhood books for them to distribute to their moms-to-be. The organization also offers several classes on parenting for both moms and dads. Education is a large part of what they offer families in preparation for parenthood.
So besides donating books again this summer, we thought we could support their new parents by gifting them some Baby Boxes. But what is a Baby Box exactly?
Well, it’s literally a box filled with an assortment of baby supplies and educational materials. The really ingenious part is that the box itself is designed to be used as a safe sleeping environment for baby. Each one includes a non-toxic mattress, waterproof mattress cover and fitted sheet. It makes a great bassinet to set next to Mom’s bed or to carry with you to any room of the house. They come in cute prints and are internationally safe certified. When baby grows too big for it, the box can be repurposed as a toy box or for storage and, eventually, recycled.
We ordered from The Baby Box Company, whose mission is to lower infant mortality rates. Every box includes materials about safe sleeping environments. Since Finland has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, we figured they must be on to something.
