Throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

The Finnish welfare and benefits agency that pioneered the use of baby boxes has challenged claims in Scotland that the temporary cribs can reduce infant mortality.

The agency, Kela, supported warnings by a leading expert on infant health, Dr. Peter Blair, that it was wrong to say that Finland’s scheme had been proven to prevent or reduce infant mortality. Blair said baby boxes should only be used for sleeping babies in an emergency or when no cot was available.

Sturgeon unveiled the baby box scheme two years ago saying they would cut infant mortality – a claim that has been repeated by other Scottish National party (SNP) leaders. The first minister, speaking at the height of the 2016 Scottish parliament elections, told her party’s conference in March that year: “This simple but powerful idea originated in Finland. It provides practical help for parents and has reduced infant mortality and improved child health.”  Charities and infant mortality experts had warned ministers those claims could not be substantiated, but ministers have continued to describe the boxes as a “safe sleeping space” for infants.

Kela told the Guardian it had never made that claim and there was no evidence to support it.

“We don’t want to promote the idea that there is evidence the baby box as such has decreased infant mortality in Finland or that Finland has made such claims. Rather, it has been the improving of our healthcare system of which the baby box is a part of, that our low infant mortality can be attributed to,” a Kela spokesperson said. “Empirical data on the effect of the maternity package on infant mortality does not exist.”

 The British Standards Institution disputing the Scottish government’s statements that its boxes met safety standards as cribs and cots. The BSI, the UK’s national product-safety standards body, said no such standards existed for cardboard baby boxes. The Scottish government responded by citing the safety certificates for the boxes. Those showed the cardboard used for the box was tested under toy safety legislation, and not under the safety standards for cribs and cots. Sturgeon said the boxes conformed to all the relevant safety standards, including for fire safety and mattress quality.

The UK arm of the UN children’s agency, Unicef, stated in November last year t said it had received a number of queries about whether baby boxes met the accreditation standards under its Baby Friendly initiative on infant healthcare. It cited the Scottish government scheme and said: “As yet, there is little evidence regarding the efficacy of such schemes and so it is not possible to state whether they offer benefits or harm to babies and their parents.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/03/finland-disputes-scotlands-baby-box-claims-after-expert-warning