Parents across Kent are being given a free Baby Box as part to efforts to cut cot deaths.

The specialist kit, which doubles as an infant sleeping space, contains useful information and products to help families with newborns.

It is part of a programme is to encourage early engagement with maternity services and access to care for pregnant women.

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In order to receive a free Baby Box, expecting parents will need to complete the West Kent syllabus on www.babyboxuniversity.com, a maternal and childcare education platform.

Upon completion, they will receive a certificate that can be redeemed for their free box.

The Baby Box tradition, which originates from Finland, has been credited with reducing the infant mortality rate in the country from 65 infant deaths per 1,000 births in 1938 to 2.26 per 1,000 births in 2015.

The UK has some of highest rates of infant mortality in Europe, ranking 22nd out of the 50 European countries with 4.19 deaths per 1,000 births.

The Baby Box, which is made from durable cardboard and comes with a firm foam mattress, waterproof mattress cover and a fitted cotton sheet, is traditionally used in Finland as a baby's bed for the first months of the child's life, replacing the need for a traditional basket or cot.

Maidstone Hospital Birth Centre, Tunbridge Wells Maternity Unit and Crowborough Birth Unit, all of which are run by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, are taking part in the programme.

Jenny Cleary, head of midwifery and women's health, said: "We welcome any initiative which promotes a safer environment for babies as well as knowledge and reassurance for new parents.

"Baby Box is an established and successful programme which I am sure many of our local parents will be delighted to benefit from."

They are made by the US-based Baby Box Company, which also has offices in Canada and West Sussex.