When the program launched in 1949 the government gave mothers a choice.
Cardboard box baby bed finland.
Add the mattress and it ingeniously becomes a safe and simple crib.
It s called the maternity box.
With the mattress in the bottom the box becomes a baby s first bed.
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.
Valley news live looked into the practice to see if it is really safe.
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.
It s a growing trend to have your newborn sleep in a cardboard box known as baby box.
Even so that s the first place that many finnish infants lay.
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.
For 75 years newborn babies in finland have been sent home with a cardboard box full of essential sleeping items issued by the government.
In finland baby boxes have had a dramatic impact.
After they return home parents don t simply take out the more valuable sleeping items and discard the cardboard box.
A bit of bedding and a miniature sleeping bag arranged in a cardboard box.
Many children from all social backgrounds have their first naps within the safety of the box s four cardboard walls.
They could either receive 140 euros or a baby box stuffed with child.