'Baby Box' helps new moms get on the right track

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - It's called a Baby Box and inside it's stocked with all types of goodies.

Once it's emptied, it becomes a safe bed for the child to sleep in.

"There's some clothing, there's baby blankets, there's a baby carrier," John Swagert, M.D., chief executive officer of Mountain Park Health Center said.

Swagert says the Baby Box idea came after seeing the impact it had on new moms in another country.

"We stole the idea from Finland, where they've been doing this for about 75 years, giving away boxes to every newborn in the country that's born in Finland and as a result, they've reduced the incidents of sudden infant death syndrome," he said.

Since December, 600 new moms have received a box, including Hillary Dodge and her now 2-week-old baby boy.

"The little kit that has his thermometer, a thing for his nose and toothbrush," she said. "I thought that was really nice to have everything was really cute."

She says other items in the Baby Box are informative.

"I started reading that a couple of weeks before he was born and it's helped these first couple of weeks of his birth," she said.

Being better informed means having less stress.

"A lot of our patients are low-income women, minority women, and sometimes there's a lack of celebration that they're bringing home a new baby and I think we need to do something that addresses that issue and we want to demonstrate that we are excited that they're having a baby," Swagert said.

The Baby Box and its goodies have about a $300 value.

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