Mothers in London to be given Finnish-style baby boxes to keep newborns safe

Mothers in Finland are given a ‘baby box’ by the government – a cardboard box which the infant sleeps in to keep it safe, along with other baby essentials.

Now mothers in one London borough are to be handed the boxes, too – which are thought to be behind Finland’s low infant mortality rate.

Finnish babies sleep in the boxes for the first eight months of their lives – and the government has handed out them out for 75 years.

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The idea is that the baby can’t turn over onto its stomach – it’s believed that babies who sleep on their back are at less risk of sudden infant death syndrome, known as cot death.

Since Finland introduced the boxes, deaths fell from 65 per 1,000 births in 1938 to 2.3 per 1,000 births in 2015.

Hackney council’s health chief Jonathan McShane said: ‘After people see it is working in Hackney it will be picked up in other London boroughs. It’s all about pointing new mums in the right direction.’

To get the boxes , parents need to complete an online education course.

The boxes will be provided with maternity package including mattress, waterproof cover and cotton sheets, breast pads, wipes and nappies.

It’s not known whether other London councils will follow suit, the Evening Standard reports.