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Medical center helps prepare moms for newborns with baby boxes

A valley medical center recently adopted a new practice used thousands of miles away. It aims to make new mothers feel comfortable and keep their newborn babies safe.

First time mothers have a lot to be excited about. Hearing their baby's heart beat for the first time is one of them, but there's also a lot to be nervous about.

"The whole purposed of this program is really to connect mom with the supplies and the services to make sure they and their baby have a healthy and safe start at life," said Janey Pearl Snarks of the Mountain Park Health Center.

Last December, the Mountain Park Health Center in Phoenix launched the Baby Box program. To date, more than 800 boxes have been distributed.

"A lot of the stuff I didn't have, like the baby wrap, little groom kit.. it'll be nice," said Ana Smirl, a mom-to-be.

Baby wraps, bottles, bibs, even an umbrella. The box contains everything mom and dad need.

"The benefit of having your own health kit is being able to assess your child before calling in, so when you call in for help and advice, you have some information already," said Dr. Edmond Baker.

"For over 70 years, the country of Finland has given baby boxes for free to all of their mothers and it was developed as a program to help every baby have an equal start at life," said Snarks.

Every mom who delivers at Mountain Park receives a baby box. Doctors and assistants go over all safety standards and procedures.

"We go through with them just a little of the safety precautions.. you don't want to put the lid on the box, you don't want to carry baby inside the box, you want to make sure that the box doesn't get wet," explained Snarks.

What they do want is for mom to be well educated and equipped to have a happy, healthy baby.

Online: mountainparkhealth.org