by Joyce Slaton posted in Products & Prizes

What to get the mom who has nothing" How about everything she needs in one highly useful box"

The Original Finnish Baby Box
American moms have officially been jealous of Finnish parents since 2013, when news broke in the U.S. that each new Finnish mom gets a cardboard box full of baby must-haves meant to serve as babies' first crib (when empty).
The baby box has been credited with lowering Finland's infant mortality rate to 2.26 deaths per 1,000 live births (the U.S. rate is 6.5 deaths per 1,000 births, or 3 times higher) -- largely because when the boxes were introduced in the 1930s, women had to visit a doctor or prenatal clinic for a checkup before her fourth month to get one. The baby box idea has caught on stateside in a few areas; still, there's no nationwide program to get such boxes in the hands of new U.S. parents, nor are there serious plans to do so.
But if you want your own Finnish-style baby box -- or want to supply a mom you know -- you can buy it yourself from any one of several baby-box suppliers who have sprung up to meet the box demand.
One of the least expensive options are the boxes from The Baby Box Co., a Los Angeles-based company that launched in 2013 after one of its founders, Michelle Vick, read a BBC article about the Finnish boxes. The Baby Box Co. is behind most of the regional baby box programs in the U.S., and sells its basic Bed Box with just the box, mattress, waterproof cover, and...