Baby products in Kela maternity box on wane

The national social insurance institution- Kela on Tuesday released its maternity box for 2023 containing 38 items, that is five items fewer than the box released in 2022, said Kela in a press release.

The baby box released in 2022 contained 43 items, the box released in 2021 contained 50 items, the box released in 2020 contained 56 items and the baby box for 2019 had 63 items.

The authority said that global uncertainties and rising costs are reflected in the number of included products.

The rise in costs also impacted the procurement process for the new maternity package.

The per-package budget of 170 euros no longer buys as much as it used to.

The first new packages will go out to clients early in 2023. When putting together the package, Kela paid particular attention to the longevity of the products.

Introduced 85 years ago, the maternity package continues to support and serve the needs of families with children.

The war in Ukraine has created additional imbalance in the market.

“As we can see, the package will offer a narrower selection of items”, said Veera Petäjä of Kela, who coordinates the selection process.

She said that early in 2022, Kela proposed raising the budget by an additional 30 euros, but failed to gain support.

“On a positive note, there has been significant improvement recently in the areas of social responsibility, quality and product longevity”, Petäjä added.

With tighter family budgets, the situation families face today is a bit like what many families experienced in the past. Eighty-five years ago, the package was a novel, innovative and tangible way to give a headstart to low-income mothers.

Petäjä said that the maternity package is a way to offer support to families in good times and bad. Two-thirds of parents continue to opt for the package over the cash benefit, a sign of its enduring popularity.

“At Kela, we hope that the maternity package will continue to be a source of support to families also for the next 85 years”, Petäjä said.

Kela has included in the new maternity package all of the essential items that the parents of an infant need in their daily lives. The products have been selected with care, paying particular attention to materials, quality and social responsibility.

The emphasis is on versatility of use and social responsibility. Of the products produced from cotton, most are made of organic cotton. Some products are partly made from recycled material. Each product must meet the safety requirements imposed by Finnish and EU law.

Petäjä said that certain products had to be left out because of lack of offers. This includes condoms, the drooling bib and the cuddly toy.

Most of the bodysuits are wraps. Two bodysuits feature a detachable extension part, and all trousers have foldable stretch fabric at the waist, which can extend their usefulness.

One of the products of the maternity package that customers love the most is the versatile snowsuit.

Its 2023 version features a Moomin pattern selected after it garnered 57.3% of the vote in a poll of 8,953 respondents.

For the sleeping bag that converts into a blanket, the respondents selected a grey pattern featuring groups of animals. It got 39.1 percent of the 8,592 votes given.

The box that can be used as crib features a design titled Family by Aya Iwaya, showing a bear, horse, swan, grouse and other animals native to Finland.

Kela organised a design contest in autumn 2022. Winning designs will be featured in following years’ editions of the maternity package. The box has been designed to work as the baby’s first bed, and includes a mattress that fits into the box.

The congratulatory letter included in the maternity package has information about parental benefits and is now also available in the Sami languages.