Cardboard cribs for newborns in Finland

At a time when almost every parent wants to give the best to their child right from day one, imagine putting a newborn in a cardboard box with minimum bedding and a miniature sleeping bag.

Yes, that’s the first place that many Finnish newborns are kept first.

Due to this simple setup it is believed to be one of the many reasons why Finland now has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world at 2.52 for every 1,000 births, which is less than half that of the United States.

Finland provides all mothers-to-be with a baby box, but on a condition.

To receive the baby box, the mother has to undergo a medical exam during the first four months of pregnancy.

The government of Finland gives away about 40,000 of the boxes, which come with bedding and about 50 other baby items, including clothes, socks, a warm coat and even a baby balaclava for the icy Nordic winter.

Mothers who don’t need these items have the option to get 140 euros instead (approx. $155).

The program started in Finland in the late 1930s, when nearly 1 of out 10 infants in Finland were dying in their first year.

The baby boxes were a low-cost way to encourage women to set aside old habits and see a doctor during pregnancy.

They also provided a safe place outside of parents’ beds for infants to sleep, in homes that might have only rudimentary furniture.

In addition, Finland offers considerable protection for the baby’s parents: up to 10 months’ paid leave, and a guarantee that whoever stays home with a child can return to his or her job any time before the child turns 3.

Efforts are on to make the baby-box idea available to a wider population:

• A hospital in London recently began giving out the boxes on a trial basis.
• In Minnesota (USA), a non-profit group distributes the boxes to low income families.
• A Harvard graduate student formed an organization to distribute similar kits in South Asia. ‘When you move abroad, you realize that, wow, not every place has a baby box,’ said Sanna Kangasharju, who works in the Finnish Embassy in Washington. ‘It’s a very efficient system.’

An innovative and cost-effective idea indeed!