Baby in a Box: New Jersey Is First in the U.S. To Give Baby Boxes to Parents

Finland has some of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world, and some say that's because of a unique practice the country started in the 1930s: Sending all newborn babies home from the hospital in a cardboard box. The box comes loaded with baby supplies like diapers, clothes, baby wipes and more, but most importantly, it's meant to provide parents with a safe place for their baby to sleep. There is a mattress at the bottom of the box for the baby to sleep on.

Now, New Jersey has become the first state in the U.S. to universally adopt the baby box idea: The Baby Box Company partnered with the state of New Jersey to give any new parent in the state who wants one one of the cardboard boxes. Starting Thursday, new and expecting parents can sign up online at “Baby Box University” to receive their free box. Once you complete the syllabus and pass the quiz, you will be able to print or take a screenshot of your "Certificate of Completion" to show at any accredited New Jersey distribution site to claim your free Baby Box.

CNN reported that the cardboard boxes are distributed at Cooper University Healthcare in Camden and Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative. Or you can have it shipped to your home address. The Baby Box Company says it wants to give out 105,000 free boxes in New Jersey in 2017.

It's safest for babies to sleep in a clean, spare space, without any blankets, pillows or stuffed animals and to sleep on their backs. While the exact causes of SIDS remain unknown, doctors have found that when babies sleep on their backs in a clutter-free area the rates of SIDS goes down.

When the Finnish government started the practice in 1938, Finland was a poor country and the infant mortality rate was high — 65 out of 1,000 babies died. In 2013, the rate of SIDS in Finland was 3 deaths per 1,000 births. Compare that to the US, where in 2010 the rate of SIDS was 6.15 infant deaths per 1,000 births.

At first the boxes were only available to low-income mothers, but now everyone in Finland receives one from the government when they leave the hospital.

New Jersey hopes to do the same.

Wikimedia Commons image/Dylan Parker/June 15 2009