芬兰宝宝为什么睡在纸箱里？

At a glance， it seems a strange place to put a newborn： a bit of bedding and a miniature sleeping bag arranged in a cardboard box.

Even so， thats the first place that many Finnish infants lay their little heads. And the simple setup is believed to be one reason that Finland now has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world—2.52 for every 1，000 births， less than half that of the United States.

Finland provides all mothers-to-be with a baby box， but theres a string attached. To receive it， the mother has to undergo a medical exam during the first four months of pregnancy.

Each year the government gives away about 40，000 of the boxes， which come with bedding and about 50 other baby items， including clothes， socks， a warm coat and even a baby balaclava for the icy Nordic winter. （Mothers who dont need all those items can choose to get 140 euros instead.）

The program started in the late 1930s， when nearly one out of 10 infants in Finland died in their first year. The boxes were a low-cost way to encourage women to set aside old habits and see a doctor during pregnancy. They also provided a safe place outside of parents beds for infants to sleep， in homes that might have only rudimentary furniture.

Finland also offers considerable protection for the babys parents： up to 10 months paid leave， and a guarantee that whoever stays home with a child can return to his or her job any time before the child turns 3.

There are efforts to extend the baby-box idea to a wider audience. A hospital in London recently began giving out the boxes on a trial basis. In Minnesota， a non-profit group distributed the boxes to low-income families， inspiring a proposal debated by state lawmakers. A graduate student at Harvard formed an organization to distribute similar kits in South Asia.

“When you move abroad， you realize that， wow， not every place has a baby box，” said Sanna Kangasharju， who works in the Finnish Embassy in Washington. “Its a very efficient system.”

乍看上去，用這个东西来放新生婴儿似乎有点奇怪：一个硬纸箱，里面有一些床上用品以及一个小睡袋。

即便如此，这就是很多芬兰婴儿最初睡觉的地方。这套简单的装备被认为是芬兰成为全世界婴儿死亡率最低的国家之一的一个原因。在芬兰，每1000个新生婴儿中有2.52个死亡，不到美国的一半。

芬兰向所有的准妈妈发放一个婴儿箱，但有个条件：准妈妈们必须在怀孕的头四个月接受体检。

政府每年赠送约4万个箱子给准妈妈们，其中包括床上用品以及约50件其他婴儿用品，如衣服、袜子、保暖外套，甚至还有可以应付北欧寒冬的婴儿头套。（如果准妈妈不需要这些东西，可以选择领取140欧元。）

这个项目开始于20世纪30年代后期，当时在芬兰出生的婴儿中，差不多有十分之一会在第一年内夭折。婴儿箱可以鼓励女性抛弃旧习惯，在怀孕期间去看医生，而且这么做的成本也不高。此外，婴儿也可以在这个箱子里安全地睡觉，不用挤在父母的床上，因为有些家庭可能只有最基本的家具。

芬兰还为婴儿的父母提供很好的保障︰长达10个月的带薪假期，并保证在家带孩子的家长可以在孩子3岁前的任何时间重返工作岗位。

有些人试图把婴儿箱的做法推广给更多人。英国伦敦一家医院最近开始进行婴儿箱发放试点。在美国明尼苏达州，一个非营利组织向低收入家庭发放婴儿箱，并催生一项提案，在州议会进行了讨论。一名哈佛大学研究生成立了一个组织，在南亚地区分发类似的装备。

“当你搬到国外时，你意识到，哇，不是每个地方都有婴儿箱。”在芬兰驻华盛顿大使馆工作的桑娜·坎阿斯哈勒尤说，“这是一种非常高效的方法。”