RCM welcomes roll out of Baby Box scheme in Scotland
By RCM on 15 August 2017 Baby Box RCM Scotland Mary Ross Davie Scotland
From Today (Tuesday August 15th) all babies in Scotland will receive a baby box full of essential items aimed at promoting their health and tackling inequality.
Each Baby Box contains practical items and the box itself doubles up as a crib and provides a safe sleep space for the baby.
Commenting RCM’s Director for Scotland, Mary Ross-Davie says; “The Royal College of Midwives has supported the Scottish Government’s baby box initiative since it was announced early this year. We have done so because we believe it is a positive public health initiative that has the potential, through it's universalist approach, to make a contribution to the reduction of inequalities at the start of a baby’s life.
"The box provides a safe sleeping space, which we hope will reduce the incidence of babies sleeping in unsafe environments, such as on sofas or for long periods in car seats or bouncy chairs.
“The contents of the box give parents information & practical resources to support safe sleeping; talk, play and read with their baby; carry their baby using a sling and recognise if their baby has a temperature and if the baby’s room and bath are the right temperature.
“It will be important that the implementation of the baby box scheme is well evaluated to understand parents’ and professionals’ responses to the box over time and to monitor their impact on health outcomes. This evaluation might well lead to possible changes to the contents over time.”
Further information on Scotland’s Baby Box Scheme is available of the Scottish Government website here: (http://www.gov.scot/ )
Or Parent Club website (http://www.parentclub.scot/ ).
To contact the RCM Press Office call 020 7312 3456, or email pressofficer@rcm.org.uk.
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The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.