Baby box display at the National Museum of Finland, in Helsinki
I am freshly back from a much-appreciated visit to Finland and Nordic countries (Denmark and Sweden briefly too). Did you know that Finland’s famous baby boxes, first created in 1939, are so well-loved by its people they honor it with a display in the National Museum of Finland, in Helsinki? I took this photo there during my visit to the city and its lovely museum. These boxes, with basic infant supplies, are given to new moms, to support them and their infants.
As someone who always looks to policies and upstream solutions to problems, I couldn’t help but compare the way Finland, as a successful nation with a robust public health system, supports new moms. We do not do this in my country.
In the United States we have created state and federal tax incentives to separate families, and even worse, so-called “baby dumpsters” are springing up with bipartisan support in states to coerce the surrendering of newborn infants from vulnerable mothers.
If we considered what Finland does, nationally, we could radically reduce the pressures on these vulnerable U.S. moms from “adoption promoters” to surrender children to strangers/non-biological family. I also recently read the Canadian territory of Nunavut has replicated the Finnish baby box too: “The baby box program started in Finland in 1939, and helped reduce the infant mortality rate to less than two in 1,000, from 90 in 1,000.” By the way, this is true public health in action.
Additional Resources:
- Visit the website for Kela, the social insurance institution of Finland, to see what is shared with mothers and families when they receive their baby box.
- For more research on the Finnish baby box program, I highly recommend the book “Finntopia,” by Danny Dorling and Annika Koljonen, which provides a good historical summary of their history from just before the start of the Winter War and their ongoing use to promote the well-being of Finnish mothers, families, and children.
- Scotland has also adopted the Finnish baby box model, and research has shown their wide acceptance and many benefits for mothers, families, and kids. See the 2021 publication “Baby Box: evaluation,” published in August 2021 by the Government of Scotland’s Learning Directorate. The National Health Service website also notes the government’s promotion of baby boxes nationally: “The Scottish Government has made a pledge that every baby born in Scotland will be given their own Baby Box. It will help families prepare for the arrival of their baby and contains essential items that you will need in the first 6 months.”