California is set to hand new parents a big box of help before they even leave the hospital.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that families welcoming newborns will receive 400 free diapers at discharge under a new state program. Newsom’s office said it is the first program of its kind in the country.
In the first year, the program will be available at about 65 to 75 hospitals that handle about a quarter of births in California and largely serve low-income patients. The initiative will then expand to more hospitals statewide, though the governor’s office did not say how many.
The state has partnered with the non-profit Baby2Baby to make the diapers under the label “Golden State Start”.
Newsom said the plan builds on California’s efforts to make life in the expensive state a little easier for families, pointing to policies in recent years that provide students with free meals at schools and make preschool free for all.
“Every baby born in California deserves a healthy start in life, and that means making sure parents have the basics they need from day one,” the Democrat said in a statement.
California set aside $7.4 million in last year’s budget to roll out the initiative. This year’s budget proposal includes another $12.5 million to implement the program for the upcoming fiscal year ending in June 2027.
Each family will receive diapers in sizes for newborns and babies up to 6 kilograms. That is a little more than a month’s worth, since newborns on average need eight to 10 diapers a day.
Baby2Baby co-chief executive Kelly Sawyer Patricof said the non-profit built a manufacturing system that lets it produce diapers for 80 percent less than the retail price.
“California is once again setting the standard of what it means to show up for mothers and babies,” added co-chief executive Norah Weinstein.
The announcement comes two years after Tennessee and Delaware became the first US states to offer free diapers to families enrolled in Medicaid programs for low-income families.
In Tennessee, families can pick up 100 diapers a month from pharmacies for children under two. In Delaware, a program that started as a pilot and was extended in 2024 provides up to 80 diapers and up to one pack of baby wipes a week in the first 12 weeks of life.
California’s Medicaid system does not cover diapers for newborns. It does cover them for enrollees aged five and older if they have a medical need.
Diapers typically cost about $100 a month per child, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The thinktank said the cost can push some parents to leave diapers on too long or reuse disposable diapers, which can lead to rashes and urinary tract infections.
“The first days at home with a newborn should be focused on the love, connection, and joy of an expanded family, not stress about affording diapers,” said Kim Johnson, the state’s health secretary.
Read more from The Guardian.
