Trust boxing clever to help new mums

The Finnish tradition of gifting a box of free baby goodies to new mums is coming to Cambridgeshire – thanks to Cambridge University Hospitals.

The Trust has teamed up with The Baby Box Co to provide products including a firm foam mattress, waterproof mattress cover, and a cotton sheet. The box doubles as a baby’s bed for the first few months, replacing the need for a traditional Moses basket or cot.

The tradition, a Finnish government initiative, has been credited with reducing the infant mortality rate from 65 infant deaths per 1,000 births in 1938 to 2.26 per 1,000 births in 2015.

By contrast, the UK has some of highest rates of infant mortality in Europe, ranking 22nd out of the 50 European countries with 4.19 deaths per 1,000 births*.

Baby Box Co and CUH will launch the project at Rosie Hospital on Thursday, 26 October with the aim of encouraging expectant mums to engage early with maternity services and access care.

To receive a free Baby Box, they will need to watch a series of short videos put together by Rosie midwives and hosted on the childcare education platform www.babyboxuniversity.com.

Families will receive a certificate after watching the videos that can be redeemed for their free Baby Box, which is made of sturdy cardboard with an attractive, decorative design scientifically developed to stimulate baby brain development.  

Julie Taylor-Robertson, community and Rosie Birth Centre lead midwife, said: “We are really pleased to have signed up with Baby Box to offer this service to our families, which is cost neutral to the Trust in return for our support. 

“Our team of midwives have put together some fantastic educational videos for expectant mothers to access on the Baby Box website which will help them prepare for parenthood. 

“That qualifies them for a free Baby Box which is internationally recognised as a very safe sleeping environment for babies.”

If you are an expectant mother and would like to attend the launch event, please visit Baby Boxes’ Eventbrite page.