President Tarja Halonen learned about the preliminary results of the Baby Box study
A maternity package is a Finnish social innovation which can already be found in more than 60 countries worldwide. Principal Investigator Annariina Koivu was positively surprised by the large geographical coverage of various maternity package programmes. Koivu works in the Global Health and Development Unit of the University of Tampere in Finland.
The researchers recently presented their preliminary results to Tarja Halonen, former president of Finland.
The research group investigating maternity packages met President Tarja Halonen in August. Among other things, Halonen is famous for promoting the rights of women and children. Principal Investigator Annariina Koivu (left) and Tarja Halonen with members of the Baby Box research group Ella Näsi, Yen Phan and Jad Abuhamed. Photograph: President Tarja Halonen’s office
“During the meeting, we exchanged ideas, got some good advice, and discussed potential collaboration partners for our research project,” Koivu says.
One of the places President Halonen has visited is the Jordanian Za’atari refugee camp where a multipurpose maternity package project co-ordinated by UN Women is under way. Refugee women produce items for the maternity package and earn income for themselves and their families. The package in turn is important for the mothers because it is hard to find suitable supplies or clothes for babies in the camp.
Research group maps out maternity packages worldwide
“In the data collection phase of our study, we conducted a thorough mapping of all the countries in the world and found about a hundred different maternity package programmes,” Koivu says.
“We are investigating how various maternity package projects or programmes support mothers’ and children’s well-being, early childhood development, and parenting. The different maternity package programmes respond to a variety of local needs around the world. For example, the aim of the programme may be to guide mothers’ choices and behaviours regarding reproductive health and well-being,” Koivu explains.
In Finland, the maternity package programme is universal, i.e. it is aimed at all expecting families. In many countries, maternity packages are only targeted to disadvantaged mothers, such as prisoners, teenagers or the most vulnerable. In Finland, maternity packages were initially only issued to disadvantaged mothers, but the Maternity Grants Act was soon extended to cover all mothers.
“One of the positive aspects of the Finnish version is that it does not stigmatise or label anyone,” Halonen said.
Focus on the rights of children
At present, the research group is analysing how maternity packages can contribute to the realisation of children’s rights.
“We conducted in-depth interviews with the organisers of 29 projects. The interviews revealed that maternity packages are underpinned by a wide variety of goals related to health and well-being,” Koivu says.
“The desire to advance the rights of children is what many of these projects have in common, and we currently focus on this aspect,” Koivu adds.
The research team has defined a maternity package as a box, a bag, or other packaging that contains products needed during pregnancy, delivery, or in baby care. The package should be free to the recipient. The packages often come with particular conditions; for example, giving birth to the baby in a hospital instead of at home. The research data does not include commercial baby boxes or boxes that only contain promotional gifts.
The mapping phase of the study was funded by the Research Foundation of the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare.
A Tanzanian family has just received a maternity package. The mother, an older child, and the grandmother, with a 1-month-old infant sleeping in a box. In mountainous areas, the temperature can fall below zero during the night. Photograph: Annika Varpe
by Ella Näsi
Source: UTA News Stories
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