Baby boxes proposed in D.C. as wave of states look to Finland to prevent infant deaths, By Michael Alison Chandler, July 27, 2017, Washington Post: “To prevent infant deaths in the District, lawmakers are considering a tool that has become synonymous with the record-low infant mortality rate in Finland — a cardboard box. ‘Baby boxes’ come packed with new baby supplies and are outfitted with a firm, foam mattress so they can double as a bassinet during the baby’s first months, offering a safer alternative to co-sleeping…”
Tag: Infant mortality
Baby Box Program – New Jersey
Baby in a box? Free cardboard bassinets encourage safe sleeping, By Lisa W. Foderaro, February 12, 2017, New York Times: “Jernica Quiñones, a mother of five, was the first parent in New Jersey to get her free baby box — a portable, low-tech bassinet made of laminated cardboard. But first, she had to take an online course about safe sleeping practices, which experts say can sharply reduce the chances of sudden infant death syndrome. ‘Basically, you want to have the baby on the mattress, and that’s it,’ she said after watching a 20-minute series of videos. The message may not be new. But health officials say it is critical to keeping babies safe. To reduce infant mortality, parents must put babies to sleep on their backs on a firm mattress in either a bassinet or a crib — with no pillow, blanket, stuffed animal or bumpers. Now, New Jersey has become the first state to adopt a broad program to reduce infant deaths by aiming to distribute as many as 105,000 of the so-called baby boxes — the expected number of births in the state this year…”
Infant Mortality – Milwaukee, WI
As racial gap widens, infant mortality rate goal virtually beyond reach, By Crocker Stephenson, June 14, 2016, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “African-American babies are dying in Milwaukee at a rate that is more than three times that of white babies, according to data released Tuesday by the Milwaukee Health Department. Approaching historic levels, it is the worst racial disparity in infant deaths that the city has seen in more than a decade. And while the average infant mortality rate for both black and white babies decreased during the three-year period ending in 2015, it now appears all but impossible that the city will reach the goal it set in 2011 of reducing the black infant mortality rate 15% by 2017…”