--- title: Why Baby Boxes Help Prevent SIDS and Infant Deaths description: The bassinet-sized laminated cardboard boxes come with a firm mattress and a fitted sheet to create a safe sleeping environment for babies. canonical: https://time.com/4655876/free-baby-boxes-sudden-unexpected-infant-death-prevention/ author: Real Simple article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-01T14:00:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:03:44.654Z article:section: Health og:title: Why Baby Boxes Help Prevent Infant Deaths og:description: The bassinet-sized laminated cardboard boxes come with a firm mattress and a fitted sheet to create a safe sleeping environment for babies. og:url: https://time.com/4655876/free-baby-boxes-sudden-unexpected-infant-death-prevention/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ca3772fe8b489e/6988a9610a4a226be29cb91c/baby-skin-to-skin-charge.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2197 og:image:height: 1236 og:image:alt: Baby toddler sitting facing backwards isolated on a white background og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Baby Boxes Help Prevent Infant Deaths twitter:description: The bassinet-sized laminated cardboard boxes come with a firm mattress and a fitted sheet to create a safe sleeping environment for babies. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ca3772fe8b489e/6988a9610a4a226be29cb91c/baby-skin-to-skin-charge.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Baby Boxes Help Prevent Infant Deaths > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=bd954b52-b1af-4077-908d-141dfb1c439a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Brigitt Earley / Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Brigitt Earley / Real Simple Feb 1, 2017 2:00 PM UTC  Baby toddler sitting facing backwards isolated on a white background Baby toddler sitting facing backwards isolated on a white background Getty Images by [Brigitt Earley / Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Brigitt Earley / Real Simple Feb 1, 2017 2:00 PM UTC Each year, approximately [3,500 children](https://www.cdc.gov/sids/data.htm) under the age of one die from Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID) in the United States. Though many cases have no obvious cause, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed accounted for 25 percent of cases in 2014. Now a new program in New Jersey—the first of its kind in the United States—aims to improve that number. The [New Jersey Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board](http://www.nj.gov/dcf/providers/boards/fatality/), a group of experts that reviews fatalities and near fatalities of children in order to identify their causes and recommend preventive measures, has announced a partnership with [The Baby Box Co](http://www.babyboxco.com/). The Los Angeles-based nonprofit manufactures small, bassinet-sized laminated cardboard boxes complete with a firm mattress and a fitted sheet to create a safe sleeping environment for babies. Originally a Finnish tradition, the cardboard boxes have been proven to be highly effective for reducing SUIDs—Finland has one of the [lowest infant mortality rates](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html) in the world. The New Jersey grant will provide more than 100,000 free boxes and supplies (each box will also come with diapers, baby wipes, breast pads, nipple cream, educational materials, and more) worth approximately $150 to qualifying parents. The boxes can be used until children are about six months old, or can pull themselves up. To find out if you qualify, [click here](http://babyboxuniversity.com/). Though more pilot programs will launch in other areas of the country later this year—San Francisco and New Hampshire, specifically—new parents can purchase a [basic baby box](http://www.babyboxco.com/collections/baby-boxes/products/copy-of-copy-of-sample-baby-box-1) for about $70\. This particular box includes bedding, a tote bag, educational materials, and a gift card toward a future baby box. The most [expensive baby box](http://www.babyboxco.com/collections/baby-boxes/products/the-every-mother-counts-box) retails for $225, and also includes a toy, clothing, an educational book, a pack of diapers, and health materials like a thermometer. _This_ [_article_](http://www.realsimple.com/health/free-baby-boxes/?xid=time-rs) _originally appeared on_ [_RealSimple.com_](http://www.realsimple.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4655876/free-baby-boxes-sudden-unexpected-infant-death-prevention/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4655876/free-baby-boxes-sudden-unexpected-infant-death-prevention/"},"headline":"Why Baby Boxes Help Prevent Infant Deaths","datePublished":"2017-02-01T14:00:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:03:44.654Z","description":"The tiny beds, which are free to some parents through a new program, aim to prevent newborn deaths","url":"https://time.com/4655876/free-baby-boxes-sudden-unexpected-infant-death-prevention/","keywords":["Parenting","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ca3772fe8b489e/6988a9610a4a226be29cb91c/baby-skin-to-skin-charge.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brigitt Earley / Real Simple"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ca3772fe8b489e/6988a9610a4a226be29cb91c/baby-skin-to-skin-charge.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Baby toddler sitting facing backwards isolated on a white background","caption":"Baby toddler sitting facing backwards isolated on a white background","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/parenting/","name":"Parenting"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4655876/free-baby-boxes-sudden-unexpected-infant-death-prevention/","name":"Why Baby Boxes Help Prevent Infant Deaths"}}]}] ```