Baby boxes first designed in Finland to ensure that every child born receives necessities (clothes, blankets and the box to sleep in) is a vital and preventative pre-and postnatal care policy.
They support healthy infant development, maternal health and knowledge and they can serve to level poverty. The educational information within the boxes is critical in reducing infant mortality and supports healthy maternal mental health and parenting skills.
We commend the distribution of baby boxes in Indigenous and rural communities where access to healthcare and specifically pediatric care is lacking or non-existent. We now ask that the government of Newfoundland and Labrador quickly adapt this as a standardized healthcare policy and practice and fully fund this project to ensure that every child born in this province receives one.
This practice is an important step in closing the healthcare gap in rural and indigenous communities, creating healthier outcomes for families throughout the province and demonstrating this governments committment to infant and maternal care.
The Provincial Action Network on the Status of Women (PANSOW) is a grass roots, feminist organization & nonpartisan network which gives a provincial voice on the issues facing the Status of Women.
