For 75 years, Finland's expectant mothers have been given a box by the
state. It's like a starter kit of clothes, sheets and toys that can even
be used as a bed. And some say it helped Finland achieve one of the
world's lowest infant mortality rates.
The tradition dates back to 1938. To begin with, the scheme was only
available to families on low incomes, but that changed in 1949.
"Not only was it offered to all mothers-to-be but new legislation
meant in order to get the grant, or maternity box, they had to visit a
doctor or municipal pre-natal clinic before their fourth month of
pregnancy," says Heidi Liesivesi, who works at Kela - the Social
Insurance Institution of Finland.
So the box provided mothers with what they needed to look
after their baby, but it also helped steer pregnant women into the arms
of the doctors and nurses of Finland's nascent welfare state.
In the 1930s Finland was a poor country and infant mortality was high -
65 out of 1,000 babies died. But the figures improved rapidly in the
decades that followed.
The contents of the box have changed a good deal over the years, reflecting changing times.
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