Stephan: Here is some very happy news, that will save lives. And it clearly illustrates my point that wellness oriented policies are cheaper, more efficient, more effective, more pleasant to be involved with, and more enduring. You may remember a few months ago I ran a story about the Nordic countries giving out baby boxes, with everything a baby needs for its first year, and the improved outcome data they had seen. This is modeled on those programs.
The United States has a notably bad infant mortality rate compared with other developed nations with a national average of 6.1 per 1000. And Temple University Hospital has been sort of the worst of the worst at 10.5 per 1000. So if this Baby Box program lowers the mortality rate of infants born in that hospital, as it has done elsewhere, hopefully it will draw some real attention and be more widely adopted, if belatedly. We're only 80 years after the Fins who first did this in 1937, but at least we are moving in the right direction.
Displayed is a baby box at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia on May 6, 2016. In an effort to reduce infant mortality the boxes which are functioning bassinets complete with essential baby supplies will be given to all mothers.
Credit: Matt Rourke/AP
Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia has started an initiative to help reduce infant mortality rates. The hospital is providing each new mother who delivers at the hospital with a baby box, which is a functioning bassinet complete with a sheet and mattress.
“We weren’t sure how people were going to react to putting their babies in a box, but it’s been an overwhelmingly positive response,” Dr. Megan Heere, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, told ABC News today.
The hospital began distributing the boxes on Tuesday, […]
What a nice story to read on Mother’s Day! Thanks Stephan.