Instead of a crib for your newborn baby, why not opt for a box? That’s what one Valley health center is giving to new moms.
Since launching the first-of-its-kind Baby Box program last December, Mountain Park Health Center has given away more than 600 boxes. Mountain Park has several clinics across the Phoenix Metro area.
These boxes are filled with the basics— onesies, a digital thermometer, a baby wrap carrier, burp cloths and blankets. But the boxes serve another purpose: baby’s first bed.
Mountain Park CEO Dr. John Swagert says the boxes can help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS. "Co-sleeping is a known risk factor…particularly [among] low income families because they don’t have another place for the baby to sleep."
The contents of the box cost around $300. Mountain Park plans on donating a total of 2,000 boxes this year and will continue the program in 2017.
