Provide Safe Sleep Baby Boxes

Section two provides an immediate effective date.

Justification

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) is a term used to describe any sudden and unexpected death, whether explained or unexplained, that occurs during infancy. SUID can be attributed to suffocation, asphyxia, entrapment, infection, ingestions, metabolic disease or trauma. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3,500 U.S. infants die from SUID each year. Many infant deaths result from unsafe sleeping practices and although recommendations for safe sleeping environments for babies have been issued, including having a baby sleep on their back on a firm surface, many parents of newborns still engage in high risk behaviors associated with SUID. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Academy of Pediatrics, the safest sleep environment for babies is sleeping alone on a firm surface without blankets, pillows, or loose bedding.

Through the Newborn Health and Safe Sleep Pilot Program, "baby boxes" would be provided as a safe sleep option for newborns, and filled with educational resources and other materials to curb the high-risk behaviors engaged in by parents of newborns. While new cribs meeting all federal standards are the safest sleeping alternative, not all families can afford new cribs or are aware of the dangers of some sleeping alternatives. For such families, the "baby box" provides a safe alternative to help reduce rates of mortality from co-sleeping and other risky sleeping behaviors. Not only do the boxes serve as a safe sleeping environment for newborns but it also has the intangible benefit of being a symbol of support for new parents in need as it will also include essential baby care items.

Providing new parents with a baby box is based on a proven method first implemented in Finland. In response to a high infant mortality rate in the 1930's, the Finnish government began distributing these baby boxes and the country's mortality rate has dropped steadily ever since, with Finland now having one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. In Finland, the baby box program was originally used to support needy families and as a way to encourage expectant mothers to attend antenatal clinics. The boxes generally included onesies, pacifiers, diapers and educational materials.

The idea of the baby box has begun to spread worldwide and often the contents of the box or the way it is distributed are designed to address local problems. In South Africa for instance, the baby box is a plastic box that can be used as a bath rather than a bed, as this was viewed more useful for South African mothers. Moreover, several South Asian non-profits have introduced a version of the baby box containing items such as antiseptics, sterile razor blades and other equipment to ensure a hygienic delivery, to address the fact that many women have limited access to maternity care. In South Asia, the box also contains a mosquito net to protect babies against malaria. A pilot baby box project was also launched in London in collaboration with the U.S. company, The Baby Box Company. A baby box project is also underway in Australia and Canada and similar baby box pilot programs have begun in the cities of San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas as well as in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most recently, New Jersey received a grant from the CDC which makes them the first state to universally offer baby boxes to parents. In New York, the baby boxes will be distributed to areas with high infant mortality rates or areas with poor birth outcomes as a way to attempt to reduce infant mortality as a result of unsafe sleeping practices.

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.