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Post by Dictionary on Nov 10, 2015 22:57:21 GMT
Saw this article and thought it was quite interesting, especially about the mortality rates.
Has anyone read or seen these before or am I just living under a rock?
Babies Sleeping in Boxes
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Deleted
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May 13, 2024 15:50:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 23:02:42 GMT
Could you imagine the reaction that most American mothers would have over that?
I think it is a clever idea
We never had a crib. My son slept in a laundry basket , and my daughter slept in the tiny cradle that was had made for her uncle 70 years ago.
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Post by gar on Nov 10, 2015 23:04:41 GMT
Actually I believe one of our Scandinavian peas told us about this, rainangel maybe? Its a great idea  |
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Post by peasapie on Nov 10, 2015 23:07:36 GMT
I was born in the 50's, and in those days babies slept in cardboard boxes in the hospital. My parents brought mine home (not sure if everyone did) and kept it. I still have part of it to this day. So maybe everything old is new again...
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Post by melanell on Nov 10, 2015 23:10:29 GMT
Yes, I have heard of this. I think it's a marvelous idea.
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Post by Zee on Nov 10, 2015 23:15:33 GMT
This article is really about having baby items ready, not the idea that putting a baby in a box to sleep has any health benefits.
Infant mortality is naturally greatly improved since 1938, because we have vaccines and antibiotics and other modern medicine.
I guess my babies were sort of in a box, with rounded corners--a bassinet.
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Nicole in TX
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Post by Nicole in TX on Nov 10, 2015 23:19:00 GMT
I thought it was just me but the comments stated my thoughts at the end of the article:
April May
5:58 PM EST
What lousy writing this is! How is a cardboard box better than a wood one? Has the cardboard box reduced infant mortality rate or has it been better overall conditions outside the box that have done the trick? What kind of journalists does WAPO have working for it?
LikeReplyShare1
BillyShields
6:12 PM EST
You nailed it, April. There is not a single word on how science has determined that baby boxes reduce infant mortality.
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dald222
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Post by dald222 on Nov 10, 2015 23:21:50 GMT
my parents were born in the 20s. They used to have my aunt sleep in a drawer she was so smalll 5 lbs when born. I thought it was cause she was smmall so when I did the layout about her a couple months ago...one of my friends who is older than I said that it was not because she was smalll..it was normal for all parents to do this.. lots of reasons too....lots of people had tiny apartments or homes... there were often money issues too...depression etc. it was the thing to do... you didn't waste money for a crib when you could use a drawers..this was prevalent for other generations too..not the depression only people made do even if they weren't depression generations.. she was born in the 40s & she was kept in the drawer  she said people used boxes too |
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Post by papersilly on Nov 10, 2015 23:30:12 GMT
I know babies slept in drawers (out of the dresser of course) but I didn't know about the boxes. makes sense.
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Montannie
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Post by Montannie on Nov 10, 2015 23:33:25 GMT
My brother -- born in 1963 -- spent his first few weeks in a Chiquita Banana box.
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msliz
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Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Nov 10, 2015 23:53:57 GMT
The article includes a chart with mortality rates, but there is no explanation as to why the rates in DC are as high as they are, comparitvely. Are we really supposed to believe it's for the lack of a cardboard box?
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Post by myboysnme on Nov 11, 2015 0:05:47 GMT
When my son was about 8 weeks old I had to travel for my job and I took him with me. I drove and at night at the motel I put him one time in two chairs pushed together and then when I got to the location I used one of the dresser drawers of the hotel room. Mostly he slept with me but I needed to have a safe place to put him.
When I visited my mom when he was 4 weeks old I used his stroller. I am dating myself by saying that pack and plays came out a few years later and this would have been great. But I had limited space in my car and thought I was doing well to have the stroller and car seat. Interestingly the car seat was the old bucket style which was deemed unsafe a few years later.
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Post by RiverIsis on Nov 11, 2015 0:10:04 GMT
maybe a better article all around (though admit didn't read the first) www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22751415 The basic premise is that acquiring the box ensures the mother is signed into the system and is getting appropriate medical care support during the pregnancy and follow ups for the baby. |
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QueenoftheSloths
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on Nov 11, 2015 1:57:07 GMT
I remember reading about these when Will and Kate got one as a gift for baby George from the Finnish royal family.
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 11, 2015 2:31:08 GMT
maybe a better article all around (though admit didn't read the first) www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22751415 The basic premise is that acquiring the box ensures the mother is signed into the system and is getting appropriate medical care support during the pregnancy and follow ups for the baby.  It's not the box, but everything that comes with it, including appropriate outerwear and medical support. I know in my family, 4 out of 5 siblings spent their first few months in boxes because the crib was still be used by a sibling only a year older. |
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Post by lesserknownpea on Nov 11, 2015 6:20:08 GMT
It could be the box, also. Many people reuse mattresses, and they off gas toxins that are associated with SIDS.
Also, having the box by the bed reduces the tendency to co sleep, where the baby is not just breathing the toxins from mom and dads mattress, but if the blanket is pulled up to the parents necks, the baby may not be getting any fresh air at all.
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anniebygaslight
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Post by anniebygaslight on Nov 11, 2015 7:04:44 GMT
It was common practice for UK babies to sleep in a drawer until around the 1950's.
Not sure I believe this bit about people being to busy to buy the basics. Shopping for an expected baby is a fun and exciting time for prospective parents. Something they relish.
I do think that the whole package would be beneficial for the poorer members of society, and that it would be a shame if this became a trend that only the rich could take advantage of.
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Post by miominmio on Nov 11, 2015 7:13:54 GMT
Actually I believe one of our Scandinavian peas told us about this, rainangel maybe? Its a great idea Well, I know it wasn't me. As far as I know, babies in Norway and Sweden don't sleep in boxes. But I like the idea of giving boxes to new parents (with content, of course). When Finland saw a drop in the infant mortality rate within a few years, it is probably linked to neonatal care and the contents in the box, not necessarily the fact that the babies slept in the box (which in the early years was probably was due to the fact that most people were so poor that the box was the only option). But it is fascinating that they keep using the box itself for sleeping in (I wonder how prevalent that is now?). |
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M in Carolina
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Post by M in Carolina on Nov 11, 2015 7:16:55 GMT
It could be the box, also. Many people reuse mattresses, and they off gas toxins that are associated with SIDS. Also, having the box by the bed reduces the tendency to co sleep, where the baby is not just breathing the toxins from mom and dads mattress, but if the blanket is pulled up to the parents necks, the baby may not be getting any fresh air at all. That's what I thought as well, especially since the Finnish founder of the company said that he had his box on the floor by the bed. I raised an eyebrow at having the box on the floor. That's the coldest place in a room, and in a really cold country like Finland, wouldn't the baby get too cold and be susceptible to drafts? When we lived in Detroit and Chicago, my cats would crawl under our covers and sleep by our feet when we had very cold weather. I thought that parents would put the box in bed with them or on a low table like a coffee table to keep it off the floor like people did with cradles and bassinetts. My parents had me in a bassinett until I outgrew it, then I was in a crib. My dad said that he was so upset because I kept sleeping on my side. My parents sleep like the dead, so there's no way they would have slept with me *in* the bed with them. |
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Post by rainangel on Nov 11, 2015 7:37:05 GMT
Actually I believe one of our Scandinavian peas told us about this, rainangel maybe? Its a great idea No it wasn't me. I have never heard of this before! I don't know of anyone in Norway who has their baby sleep in a cardboard box, although it's not a bad idea. This article is about things happening in Finland, and even though Finland is very close to Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden Denmark) we in Norway have very little contact with the Finnish. Their language is COMPLETELY different from Norwegian/Swedish/Danish (which is very similar to each other). I'm pretty sure my mother slept in a dresser drawer as an infant in 1954 though  |
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Post by gryroagain on Nov 11, 2015 7:45:29 GMT
We put our oldest in a drawer (on the floor) when we traveled with her as a tiny baby. We didn't have a pack and play or anything, and my parents didn't have a crib and suggested a drawer because that was used for babies in the "old days" worked great, never bought a pack and play, just used a drawer from then out. Everywhere has a dresser, not everywhere has a crib and lugging a big pack and play around is a pita.
But the box itself doesn't help infant mortality, it's the services and the idea of conscious welcome and support that lowers infant mortality. I can't read the article, but did people really think it implied it was the box itself?
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Post by miominmio on Nov 11, 2015 7:46:44 GMT
I raised an eyebrow at having the box on the floor. That's the coldest place in a room, and in a really cold country like Finland, wouldn't the baby get too cold and be susceptible to drafts? When we lived in Detroit and Chicago, my cats would crawl under our covers and sleep by our feet when we had very cold weather. Houses in the Nordic countries are extremely well insulated, and many have underfloor heating. Both my kids slept on the floor (albeit not in boxes), and it's not cold or drafty at all. |
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tduby1
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Post by tduby1 on Nov 11, 2015 13:43:26 GMT
I remember my mom placing my younger sister in a drawer when we would go to our cabin. At that time the cabin was just a walk out basement, my dad built the house on top over the course of a few years. The basement one wide open, big block room, with beds lined up on one side, a metal tool cabinet for food, a cooler for perishables and we cooked over the fire. Memories! Anyway, the drawer was placed on the end of one of us kid's beds, whose feet wouldn't reach it to bother it and that is how she slept her first summer up north. (She was 6-9 mos) But the next year she slept in a bed with one of us.
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Post by penny on Nov 11, 2015 13:43:41 GMT
The boxes are part of the Finnish system - not all Nordic countries do this... The box isn't magical like many have noted... I'd say that the benefits are due to what the box represents: a child registered into the system and therefore being followed/monitored by the healthcare system, a mother who is participating in medical care, a baby that starts out with all the basics required so no reasons to not have their needs covered, and a general increased awareness of infant health/health issues... The box also contains condoms so that maternal health is cared for (the usual advice is to space out pregnancies)... As far as sleeping on the floor, most homes/apartments are well insulted because of the climate... The floor may be cooler than some areas of the home, but not cold and because of the size of the box the baby is protected from drafts... Some years, the top of the box has unfolded to form a base too... Parents in Finland believe that infants should have some exposure to cool/cold temperatures - appropriately clothed, each day... Many friends would pop their babies out for a nap in the stroller, even in the winter... The baby is dressed and wrapped up warm, but receives the benefit of the fresh air... ETA: Kela is the government social program/dept that takes care of the boxes... You can see their website in English here www.kela.fi/web/en/maternitypackage ETA2 And here is an article talking about outdoor napping www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21537988 and a research paper on it herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9789514296673/isbn9789514296673.pdf |
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wellway
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Post by wellway on Nov 11, 2015 14:26:11 GMT
The boxes are part of the Finnish system - not all Nordic countries do this... The box isn't magical like many have noted... I'd say that the benefits are due to what the box represents: a child registered into the system and therefore being followed/monitored by the healthcare system, a mother who is participating in medical care, a baby that starts out with all the basics required so no reasons to not have their needs covered, and a general increased awareness of infant health/health issues... The box also contains condoms so that maternal health is cared for (the usual advice is to space out pregnancies)... As far as sleeping on the floor, most homes/apartments are well insulted because of the climate... The floor may be cooler than some areas of the home, but not cold and because of the size of the box the baby is protected from drafts... Some years, the top of the box has unfolded to form a base too... Parents in Finland believe that infants should have some exposure to cool/cold temperatures - appropriately clothed, each day... Many friends would pop their babies out for a nap in the stroller, even in the winter... The baby is dressed and wrapped up warm, but receives the benefit of the fresh air... ETA: Kela is the government social program/dept that takes care of the boxes... You can see their website in English here www.kela.fi/web/en/maternitypackage ETA2 And here is an article talking about outdoor napping www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21537988 and a research paper on it herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9789514296673/isbn9789514296673.pdfThis caught my eye in the second article about napping outdoors "When the temperature drops to -15C (5F) we always cover the prams with blankets," says head teacher Brittmarie Carlzon. I would never have survived!! |
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Post by gar on Nov 11, 2015 14:29:51 GMT
The boxes are part of the Finnish system - not all Nordic countries do this... The box isn't magical like many have noted... I'd say that the benefits are due to what the box represents: a child registered into the system and therefore being followed/monitored by the healthcare system, a mother who is participating in medical care, a baby that starts out with all the basics required so no reasons to not have their needs covered, and a general increased awareness of infant health/health issues... The box also contains condoms so that maternal health is cared for (the usual advice is to space out pregnancies)... As far as sleeping on the floor, most homes/apartments are well insulted because of the climate... The floor may be cooler than some areas of the home, but not cold and because of the size of the box the baby is protected from drafts... Some years, the top of the box has unfolded to form a base too... Parents in Finland believe that infants should have some exposure to cool/cold temperatures - appropriately clothed, each day... Many friends would pop their babies out for a nap in the stroller, even in the winter... The baby is dressed and wrapped up warm, but receives the benefit of the fresh air... ETA: Kela is the government social program/dept that takes care of the boxes... You can see their website in English here www.kela.fi/web/en/maternitypackage ETA2 And here is an article talking about outdoor napping www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21537988 and a research paper on it herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9789514296673/isbn9789514296673.pdfThat all makes complete sense and is really so simple. |
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peppermintpatty
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Post by peppermintpatty on Nov 11, 2015 14:52:12 GMT
My kids slept in a bassinet so it's the same thing. Bassinets don't really have mattresses as much as they have a pad. They sleep better when confined (swaddled) so it would make sense they sleep better. They can't roll around at that age. My son was such a noisy sleeper (still is) that he couldn't sleep in the same room with me and he had reflux so he slept in his carrier inside the crib for several months.
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Post by bianca42 on Nov 11, 2015 15:04:39 GMT
I slept in a rubbermaid-type tote for several months. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 16:02:30 GMT
Interesting. My family lived in a really tiny space when my brother came along so my father took a foam cooler and cut it to the shape of a isoletette. My brother slept in it for about four months, atop my parents dresser.
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Post by jbelle on Nov 11, 2015 16:11:15 GMT
The boxes are part of the Finnish system - not all Nordic countries do this... The box isn't magical like many have noted... I'd say that the benefits are due to what the box represents: a child registered into the system and therefore being followed/monitored by the healthcare system, a mother who is participating in medical care, a baby that starts out with all the basics required so no reasons to not have their needs covered, and a general increased awareness of infant health/health issues... The box also contains condoms so that maternal health is cared for (the usual advice is to space out pregnancies)... As far as sleeping on the floor, most homes/apartments are well insulted because of the climate... The floor may be cooler than some areas of the home, but not cold and because of the size of the box the baby is protected from drafts... Some years, the top of the box has unfolded to form a base too... Parents in Finland believe that infants should have some exposure to cool/cold temperatures - appropriately clothed, each day... Many friends would pop their babies out for a nap in the stroller, even in the winter... The baby is dressed and wrapped up warm, but receives the benefit of the fresh air... ETA: Kela is the government social program/dept that takes care of the boxes... You can see their website in English here www.kela.fi/web/en/maternitypackage ETA2 And here is an article talking about outdoor napping www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21537988 and a research paper on it herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9789514296673/isbn9789514296673.pdfCan you purchase this box or one like it here in the states? This would be the perfect gift for first time parents. |
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Time to get off the internet!
she said people used boxes too 
It's not the box, but everything that comes with it, including appropriate outerwear and medical support.
Southern Side eyed Pea 
