It’s no secret that being a parent is the hardest job in the world, and first-time parenthood presents new moms and dads with enough challenges to make anyone’s head spin.
There are hundreds of manuals out there, but if you have little ones of your own, you know that there’s really no way to write the book on parenting. You have to fly by the seat of your pants and deal with everything as it comes. That being said, there are a few tenets of parenthood that apply to raising every bundle of joy: Always be ready for a tickle fight, don’t plan on getting much sleep, and try not to let them wander too far out of sight.
But what about leaving your baby in a cardboard box? Although that sounds like a terrible idea, that’s what the next 3,000 moms to give birth at Temple University Hospital will be doing when they get home.
Infant mortality rates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are almost double that of the national average.
Although it’s certainly not responsible for all infant deaths, the practice of co-sleeping claims hundreds of lives every year.
Co-sleeping occurs when parents allow their babies to sleep with them in the same bed. While this is typically not done with ill intent, doing so can put babies at risk. Some experts, like University of Notre Dame anthropologist James McKenna, say that there is little evidence to back up the widely held notion that co-sleeping is a bad idea, but physicians tend to err on the side of caution by urging parents not to partake.
According to Dr. Megan Heere, “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that your baby should sleep alone on their back in their own crib.”
That’s where the baby box comes in.
Temple University Hospital physicians are now giving out free baby boxes — complete with necessary supplies, firm mattress pads, and blankets — to new moms in an effort to encourage safe sleeping practices.
The boxes may not come with all the bells and whistles of traditional cribs, but they are perfectly safe and they help little ones stay out of harm’s way.
To learn more about this life-saving collaboration between Temple University Hospital and The Baby Box Company, check out the video below!
(via Good Housekeeping)
The project has already proven to be extremely helpful to low-income families and new moms whose little ones arrived a bit earlier than expected. To learn more about The Baby Box Company, visit their website and follow them on Facebook for regular updates!
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