William and Kate, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been given a ‘baby box’ by the Finnish Government, mirroring a gift that the Scandinavian state offers all parents of babies born in the country.

Kensington Palace confirmed that the couple received the box last week. A palace spokesman said: “We were delighted to receive the very kind gift of the maternity package from the Finnish Government. It was a very thoughtful gesture and we are very grateful for it. I’m sure the Duke and Duchess will be very interested to see the contents.”

The Duke and Duchess would find that the crate itself can be as a first bed, as the box can be transformed in to a bassinet once upholstered. The box arrived with all these basic provisions:

  • Cotton wool, moisturising cream, sanitary towels, hairbrush, nail scissors, bath thermometer, toy and book.
  • Changing mat and cotton towel with plastic cover
  • Shirts, rompers, stretch suits, headgear, pants, gauze nappies, socks, sleeping bag-quilt, zip-suit sleeping bag, towel, sheet, quilt cover, quilt or blanket.

Free provision of the baby care items was first introduced in Finland in 1938, available only to families on low incomes. In 1949 the choice of the baby care box or a maternity grant was offered to all new parents and is thought to have helped reduce infant death rates in the country.

According to Statistics Finland, the country’s infant mortality rate is now one of the lowest in the world, and it seems there is a connection with the drop in infant mortality rates and the introduction of the ‘baby box’.

In the late 1930s, nearly every tenth child born in Finland died under the age of one. This has consistently dropped over the last 80 years, resulting in a mortality rate today of 3.4 deaths in every 1,000 births.

It may be argued that improved healthcare is one reason for infant mortality rates lowering in Finland. In the 1930s, many child deaths were as a result of pneumonia and then untreatable diseases. Figures from Statistics Finland, however, reveal that in 1936, 40% of deaths in babies under the age of one were as a result of birth injuries, developmental defects or innate weakness, reasons which may have been improved by the distribution of the maternity boxes.

The worldwide interest in Finland’s use of birth packages has followed a magazine article put out by the BBC: “Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes”

Heidi Liesivesi of Kela, Finland’s Social Insurance Institution, told the BBC that to receive the grant or care box, parents had to visit a doctor or municipal pre-natal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy, encouraging parents to receive much needed care throughout their pregnancy.

Mark Gissler, a professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, said the fact Finland introduced their national health insurance system and the central hospital network in the 1960s would have also contributed to the the decrease in infant mortality rates.

Also speaking to the BBC, one mother believes that the box is an important part of a mother’s life in Finland, as well as the baby’s. She says: “There was a recent report saying that Finnish mums are the happiest in the world, and the box was one thing that came to mind. We are all very well taken care of, even now when some public services have been cut down a little.”

International exposure of the Finnish maternity packages has led to many countries looking to purchase the package themselves from Kela. However, the maternity package is only available under the Finnish social security system and is not eligible to be sold as a commercial product.

Liesivesi says Kela wanted to congratulate the royal couple on receiving the package:

“The maternity package gained such a positive response from all around the world. The timing was perfect that the royal couple are having a baby.”

The royal birth is hotly anticipated and due around July 13th. Whether the baby is a boy or girl, recent legal changes mean that, whatever its sex, it will fall in line to succeed the Duke of Cambridge for the throne.

The duchess is to give birth in the same prestigious private facilities that princes William and Harry were born – The Lindo Wing of a leading NHS hospital, London’s St Mary’s.