Scottish Baby Box: how do I apply through my midwife?

Who is the Baby Box for, and is there an English equivalent?

mygov.scot (last updated 3 December 2024, checked 10 September 2026) says you need to be registered with a midwife and living in Scotland. Parent Club adds that the baby must be born and resident in Scotland and that you should be living permanently in Scotland.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland have no matching UK Government baby box. Lists that mix 'the baby box' with English supermarket or club parcels are describing a different kind of offer. Those club boxes are not this scheme.

Parent Club states that every newborn baby in Scotland is entitled to a box, so twins or triplets are described as one box each. That is the Scottish Government scheme's own wording, not a MayTally promise about a delivery date.

How does the midwife registration card work?

Current official pages do not ask most people to fill a public web form. mygov.scot and Parent Club both describe a card the midwife completes with you.

1. 1
   Be booked with a Scottish midwife Eligibility on mygov.scot is: registered with a midwife and living in Scotland. If you have just moved, raise that at booking so the card can be done in time.
2. 2
   Complete the card at 18–20 weeks or at 28 weeks mygov.scot and Parent Club name those two appointment slots. NHS Inform's Ready Steady Baby page still shows a 20–24 week window — treat the card in the midwife's hand, and the mygov / Parent Club pages, as current.
3. 3
   Let the midwife send the card mygov.scot says the midwife sends the registration card and you do not need to do anything else. Parent Club uses the same wording. An older Scottish Government evaluation found some midwives asked parents to post the card themselves; if you are handed the card, ask whether you or the midwife is posting it.
4. 4
   Keep the registration number on the leaflet Parent Club says later changes (address, a premature arrival before the box comes) need that number when you contact APS Group.

When is the box delivered, and who do I call if it is late?

mygov.scot and Parent Club both say the box is delivered between four weeks before the due date and the due date. Parent Club says a text, email or letter — whichever preference was written on the card — is sent the week before dispatch, and the carrier then shares tracking and a time slot.

• Pack and send: APS Group. Email [email protected] or phone 0800 030 8003 (mygov.scot and Parent Club).
• Address change: Parent Club says to contact APS with the registration number from the midwife leaflet.
• Baby arrives before the box: Parent Club gives the same APS email and phone.
• Feedback on the scheme: mygov.scot lists [email protected].

NHS Inform still says the box arrives about four weeks before the due date and describes a 20–24 week card. If your dates do not match a list you read in 2017 news copy, use mygov.scot and Parent Club, then APS — not a voucher-site reprint.

Can my baby sleep in the Baby Box?

Parent Club describes the box, with the supplied mattress and bedding, as a place a baby can sleep if safer-sleep guidance is followed. It also publishes its own Q&A on overnight use and on stopping once a baby can roll, sit, kneel or pull up. MayTally does not give a safety verdict on the box.

The Lullaby Trust's safer-sleep advice, for every sleep until 12 months, is: baby on their back; a clear, flat, firm separate sleep space (it gives a cot or Moses basket as examples); a firm, flat, waterproof mattress; same room as you for at least the first six months; keep the baby smoke-free and not too hot. Compare any sleep product, including a cardboard box, against that list and what your midwife says.

Parent Club also says to lift the box without the baby in it if you move it, and to ask a health professional before using the included wrap with a pre-term or low-birthweight baby.

What do official pages say is in the box?

mygov.scot lists clothes from newborn to 6 months, a digital underarm thermometer, a bath and room thermometer, a bath towel, a changing mat, books, plus a mattress, mattress protector and two fitted sheets. Parent Club publishes a longer item list and notes that some items may vary. That list is a government welcome pack, not a full newborn kit.

In shortAsk the midwife for the registration card at 18–20 or 28 weeks and confirm who posts it. England has no equivalent UK Government box. For sleep, use The Lullaby Trust's published advice on any surface; this page does not rate the box as a cot.