Every newborn will be entitled to a "baby box" of essentials, Nicola Sturgeon has pledged.

Revealing the policy ahead of her party's manifesto launch on Wednesday, Sturgeon described the move as potentially "transformational".

A similar scheme in Finland has been in operation since 1938.

Sturgeon said: "What I am talking about today is our proposal to introduce a baby box for every newborn baby to give new parents the essentials.

"This is a policy that has been tried and tested in Finland and has been found to reduce infant mortality and help tackle child poverty so I am really excited about the prospect of introducing it in Scotland.

"It is a box that contains all the essentials that a new born baby needs: clothing, bedding and books. The box itself can be used as a cot or a travel cot.

She added: "It is a simple idea. It doesn't cost a massive amount of money but it has the potential to be transformational when it comes to giving young people the best start in life."

The box would contain Scottish Government bookbug bags, play-talk-read materials, for example, a play mat, a baby book provided by NHS Scotland, a baby toothbrush, clothing and bedding so the box itself can be used as a cot or travel crib.

The SNP claims each box would cost around £100, with the scheme's total cost coming in at around £6m for the Scottish Government.

Last week, the Scottish Liberal Democrats backed a similar policy, with their manifesto stating: "We will start a pilot project to give parents of newborn babies a Finnish-style baby box containing essential items to ensure a healthy baby, proven to cut child mortality rates internationally."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "Every new mother should be able to have peace of mind that their baby has a safe and secure place to sleep.

"These boxes have been proven to cut infant mortality rates around the world which is why we were the first party to commit to distributing them to expectant mothers.

"Baby boxes will save lives and Liberal Democrats are proud they are one of the many measures in our published manifesto that will help ensure every child has the best possible start in life."

The Scottish Conservatives dismissed the policy as giving parents a "disposable cardboard box".

The party's health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: "This is another sound bite from the SNP which, while it has a superficial headline appeal, nevertheless falls far short of the substantive Scottish Conservative proposal to invest in a universal, GP attached National Health Visiting Service, creating an additional 500 health visitors with a particular concentration in areas of high health inequality.

"Instead of simply offering families a disposable cardboard box, Scottish Conservatives will offer all new parents practical and ongoing support with their child's upbringing for the first seven years - to ensure that they have the best possible start in life.

"Most new parents already leave maternity hospital with a supply of essential items. What will make a real difference to child poverty and the prevention of problems which can affect life chances will be an investment in support over their child's first seven years."

The Scottish Greens previously supported the policy but said the Scottish Government must ensure it is not "just a promotional opportunity for commercial interests".

The party's health and well-being spokeswoman Alison Johnstone said: "Ensuring healthy pregnancies and preventing childhood poverty are top priorities for the Scottish Greens and our bold proposals to reform income tax and council tax would raise revenue to invest in these priorities while reducing bills for most households.

"We must reverse the Tories' cuts to pregnancy and child-related benefits and recruit more health visitors and midwives.

"Greens have advocated the Finnish baby box scheme in the past but we must be sure it isn't just a promotional opportunity for commercial interests.

"Greens want to expand the sure start maternity grant to provide financial stability for pregnant mums at risk of poverty, and we want to support midwives and health visitors to work with families to claim the financial support they are entitled to."

Scottish Labour has been approached for comment.

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