The milestone comes after an independent evaluation into the Scottish Government’s scheme revealed how the Baby Box benefitted families financially and reinforced key child health and development messages.
Under the scheme, every baby due on or after 15 August 2017 onwards has received a Baby Box containing ‘essential’ items for parents and newborns, including baby clothes, a digital ear thermometer, a travel changing mat and baby books. The box itself comes with a mattress and can be used as a sleep space.
Other key findings from the evaluation, carried out by Ipsos Mori, include:
- Take-up of the Baby Boxes among parents is high, with over 90 per cent registering for one.
- Of the 2,236 parents surveyed for the evaluation, the majority, rated the contents of the box as ‘very’ or ‘fairly good.
- The digital ear thermometer and bath and room thermometer were considered to be the most useful by parents.
- A total of 39 per cent of those surveyed used the box for sleeping.
- 84 per cent of these parents found the leaflet included on safe sleeping ‘useful’.
- 37 per cent of parents surveyed learnt about bonding with their baby as a result of the box.
'Last year, a record 98 per cent of expectant parents requested a Baby Box'
Commenting on the news that the Baby Box has been delivered to 200,000 parents, Scotland’s children’s minister Clare Haughey said, ‘The Baby Box is part of our commitment to making sure that every child, no matter what their circumstances, has the best start in life. Deliveries of the boxes have continued throughout the pandemic, supporting parents at a time when many may be facing additional financial worries or having to cope without as much face-to-face support from family and friends.
‘Last year, a record 98 per cent of expectant parents requested a Baby Box, a big rise on the 85 per cent when they were first launched in 2017.’