Linking new mothers to critical postpartum services
What is Baby Box?
Child.org’s Baby Box project was designed as a way to incentivise mothers to access postnatal care services and provide new mums with safe sleeping information and a safe place for their baby to sleep.
Between June and December 2018, Child.org delivered 483 specially-designed Baby Boxes to mothers living in information settlements (‘slums’) in Nairobi County. Each box contained a mattress, two sheets, a cellular blanket and mosquito net, and each was printed with safe sleeping advice.
Between 2021 and 2022, we delivered 500 boxes to mothers in Kwale county. In Kwale, we expanded the service by also offering the women three maternal healthcare sessions where we armed women with potentially life-saving information and encouraged attendance to both antenatal and postnatal appointments, and to deliver their babies in health facilities. We also included a leso, maternity pads, cotton wool, slippers, a onesie and hat for their newborn, as well as reusable diapers and toiletries for the baby.
Why Baby Box?
Baby Boxes have been making news in the UK for a few years, with research and debates ongoing into how they help families in Scotland and Finland. But there’s been little research into whether this innovative intervention might be useful in a low- and middle-income country like Kenya. Our small pilot programme provides a glimpse into their potential.
More families accessed vital health services, life-threatening infections were identified earlier and mums had a far better understanding of the safest way to put their baby to sleep. We found that:
- 96% of mothers accessed postnatal care services following the birth of their baby, compared to only 15% at baseline.
- There was an 81% increase in women and babies accessing life-changing health services.
- Before the programme, just 7% of mothers knew that the safest position for a baby to sleep is on their back. After the programme, 43% of mothers knew this.
Read our impact report to find out more about the success of our Baby Box project.