It must be nice to live in a first world country now and again. Don’t get me wrong, we wouldn’t trade our mountain view for all the riches in the world. Even gold, Jozi.

But you have to admit there’s something pretty cool about each expectant mother in Finland receiving a baby ‘starter kit’. BBC reports:

 It contains bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, bathing products for the baby, as well as nappies, bedding and a small mattress.

With the mattress in the bottom, the box becomes a baby’s first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box’s four cardboard walls.

The idea behind the box was two-fold; firstly, each mother was guaranteed some of the necessities and secondly, in order to claim the box, mothers had to visit a doctor or pre-natal clinic which ensured medical assistance.

Take a bow, Finland, we salute you. Two men who also deserve a salute are Ernst Hertzog and Frans de Villiers, a pair of South African fathers looking at implementing a similar idea here at home. Their idea is called the Thula Baba Box, and will be tailored to what mothers in our neck of the woods need. This from women24:

The Thula Baba Box will include items such as clothes, medicine, developmental toys and literature for parents. In addition, it will give access to free health products, information and a system of rewards to encourage expectant mothers to visit antenatal clinics earlier and more frequently.

They hope, with government funding, to supply pregnant women in the Western Cape with the Thula Baba Box by 2016, spreading their idea nationwide by 2020. We can only hope the government can free up some funding and support these guys in their fantastic initiative.

You can read the full article on their initiative HERE, and watch a video from the BBC about the idea HERE (starting from around the 2:20 mark).

[sources:bbc&women24]