Toronto moms may get all the baby help they need from a box

By Kelly Khizakia

A volunteer-based program to help mothers is being developed in Toronto.

Gwen Broda, a nurse and mother of three, has an idea she’s proposing to help mothers with their newborns. She hopes the New Mom Project will provide boxes equipped with baby goods for mothers in need. She’s already started to put together some of those boxes on her own. They contain a range of clothes, diapers, wipes and other items that can be requested by mothers. Broda also adds a special ingredient to her boxes for the babies.

“I generally try to add a newborn toy just for fun,” Broda told Humber News. The box is an idea that is a reality in Finland, and  inspired Broda. She read a story that said all Finnish mothers receive a baby box, as long as they go through a prenatal home care visit.

Broda is currently taking extra courses at Ryerson University to upgrade her nursing degree and she said she’s using the knowledge she’s gained through personal experience, her schooling and society to move forward with the New Mom Project. She said she is willing to help anyone with this project.

“I really think that this baby box is something that every mom should get throughout the city regardless of income because it’s such a positive message,” she said. “It says that someone’s caring about you.” Some boxes have already been distributed and delivered to mothers, and there’s been positive feedback.

Broda hopes Canada will follow Finland’s lead and give baby boxes out officially to new mothers. “Throughout all this, I’d want a national program to provide a Finnish box to every mom in the country,” she said. Kalyn Carleton is a mother to a one-year-old, and during her hospital stay when giving birth, she wishes she had something like a Finnish baby box to help her out. “Prince drooled on every shirt and onesie he was put in so I was always changing him,” Carleton told Humber News. “I didn’t have the amount of clothing I really needed.”

Deanesha Donaldson, a 19-year-old mother-to-be, is expecting to have her first child in the summer.Donaldson said she’s mentally prepared herself, but isn’t allowed to buy anything for the baby until after she has her baby shower. She’s had younger siblings born after her and she’s seen the steps parents take in order to prepare for a newborn. Donaldson said the baby box is a great idea for moms and parents that can be stressing over the homecoming of a baby. “Having newborns around when they first come home is a joy but when you’re a mommy or daddy it can be nerve racking and can stress you out, especially if there’s no one to help,” she said. The”http://www.newmomproject.ca/” target=”_blank”>New Mom Project is currently accepting donations  and there will be dropoff days for donations in the upcoming weeks.