Kela baby box adds 14 more items after cutting 25 items in last 6 years

The national social insurance institution- Kela has started to distribute the 2026 edition of the maternity package containing 52 items, said Kela in a press release on Wednesday.

This year´s maternity package contains 14 more products than the number of products in the previous year after reduction of 25 items in the last six years.

The maternity grant is granted either in the form of a maternity package or a one-off payment of EUR 210.

The maternity package now distributed contains more products than before, because the maternity grant has increased from EUR 170 to EUR 210.

“The maternity package we begin to distribute now will be even more useful for the new mother and the baby than before, because of the increase in the value of the maternity grant,” said Veera Petäjä, a Kela specialist.

The maternity package is designed specifically for the needs of mothers and babies. The products included are selected on the basis of quality and safety criteria. Customer feedback also plays an important role in the planning of the maternity package.

“When your baby no longer needs the items in the maternity package, you can pass them on. It is important for Kela and for families that the products included in the maternity package can be used for a long time,” said Petäjä.

The new maternity package contains a ball. The ball is paid by ‘Suomi liikkeelle’, a programme included in the Government Programme, whose aim is to encourage people to get more exercise. The soft and brightly coloured ball in the maternity package supports interaction between parents and their babies and provides an added incentive for families to do something fun together.

The box of the maternity package also doubles as a bed for the new baby and features a pattern which is new this year. The pattern has been designed by illustrator Eveliina Muotkavaara and it is called ‘Kuvitellaan tulevaa’ (Imagining the future).

“I wanted to create a pattern that expresses happiness and warmth at this new stage in the life of young families. The space-themed pattern in peach colours encourages dreams of the future when the child is growing up,” said Muotkavaara.

The baby box for 2025 contained 38 items, and the number of items was one lower than the number in the previous maternity box and same as the number of 2023.

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