Joyce Fegan: New mums want proper support, not a box of stuff

The intention of Government's Little Baby Bundle feels sweet in sentiment, but when it comes to the cold hard reality of the labour of care work, it misses the mark.

Rotunda Hospital Dublin director of midwifery Fiona Hanrahan, Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman, and University Hospital Waterford’s director of midwifery Paula Curtin at the launch of The Little Baby Bundle pilot scheme last December. Picture: Maxwells

If due dates are ever to be believed, I will be holding a newborn in my arms in give-or-take three or four weeks' time. 

Yesterday, the Government announced a new scheme, The Little Baby Bundle, a box filled with items such as socks, reusable nappies, a baby sling, bibs, a nasal aspirator, and mittens. Several hundred new parents will begin to receive one of these boxes in the coming days.