Cardboard Box Baby Bed Finland

Many children from all social backgrounds have their first naps within the safety of the box s four cardboard walls.

Cardboard box baby bed finland.

Valley news live looked into the practice to see if it is really safe. When the program launched in 1949 the government gave mothers a choice. For 75 years newborn babies in finland have been sent home with a cardboard box full of essential sleeping items issued by the government. Due in part to this maternity kit custom finland has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world and other countries are taking notice.

And at the bottom of the box is a thin mattress. Even so that s the first place that many finnish infants lay. It s called the maternity box. A portable bassinet for nightime or naps baby boxes are lightweight and sturdy cardboard boxes that expectant mothers in finland have been using as bassinets since the 1930s.

Add the mattress and it ingeniously becomes a safe and simple crib. With the mattress in the bottom the box becomes a baby s first bed. That s right the cardboard box that carries these essentials is not just any ordinary receptacle. For decades the finns have given every new baby a big cardboard box filled with free diapers wipes warm clothes etc.

At a glance it seems a strange place to put a newborn. Most parents in finland don t even use the boxes as a baby bed. They could either receive 140 euros or a baby box stuffed with child. You get the idea once the goodies are removed what remains is an inexpensive little baby bed to keep an infant on the floor right next to mama all night.

A bit of bedding and a miniature sleeping bag arranged in a cardboard box. In finland baby boxes have had a dramatic impact.