Dr. Megan Heere advises mothers to put their newborns in cardboard boxes. Mothers are sometimes apprehensive when they are told that. This idea seems strange to mothers in the United States, but women in Finland have been doing this for many years. Temple University Hospital has recently started giving out these cardboard boxes, which are often called baby boxes. They cost $100 to make, but they are given to mothers for free. The purposes of these boxes is to prevent infant mortality.
The leading cost of death in infants is suffocation. Fortunately, there are things that can be done to prevent infant suffocation. Many new parents think that it is best for their babies to sleep on a soft mattress. However, the ideal sleeping environment for a baby is the baby box.
Doctors recommend that babies sleep flat on their backs on a firm surface instead of a soft mattress. They also recommend that babies sleep in the room with their parents. However, a baby should not sleep in the same bed with his or her parents. The baby box allows babies to sleep on a firm surface. Parents can also put the box in the room with them. That is why the baby box can prevent sudden infant death syndrome.
The baby box makes things easier for mothers. Not only do mothers get a box, but they also get newborn supplies, such as diapers, educational materials, bottles and clothes. Two mothers at Temple University Hospital went into labor early. They did not have time to get the supplies that they needed for their babies. Fortunately, they went home with a baby box.