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Primary Submission Category: Interventions/Programs
Evaluating “NYC Baby Boxes”: A Mixed-Methods Study of a New York City Government-Led pilot to reduce early stress among families with newborns
Authors: Rachel Massar, Alex Gingerella, Sarah Sisco, Kayla Fennelly, Carolyn Berry,
Presenting Author: Rachel Massar*
Early financial and material stress is a major concern for new parents, particularly in low socioeconomic and minority populations. In 2025, New York City government launched a pilot initiative called “NYC Baby Boxes”, an inter-agency effort designed to support families with newborns and reduce early sources of stress during the postpartum period. As part of the pilot, families giving birth at four hospitals in the city’s public hospital system, the largest in the nation, receive a free box containing essential newborn and postpartum supplies, along with a health guide and a family resource guide that connect parents to available services and supports. Our team of researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine is conducting an external, mixed-methods evaluation of the Baby Boxes program focused on patient acceptability and early experiences among families receiving the intervention. We have launched telephone surveys with mothers who received Baby Boxes approximately 1-2 months post-delivery to assess satisfaction, utilization of Baby Box items, engagement in postnatal and pediatric care, parental and financial stress, confidence and self-efficacy to care for an infant, and engagement with resources; fielding ends in May 2026 and we anticipate a sample size of at least 200 completed surveys. Thirty-two in-depth virtual interviews with a subset of mothers who received Baby Boxes explore experiences receiving and using Baby Box supplies and elicit recommendations for program improvement. We will analyze interviews using rapid qualitative methods. Findings from this evaluation will provide early evidence on the acceptability of a city-led Baby Boxes program and its potential to reduce early stressors among parents of newborns and assessing trust building with City systems.