Finnish Baby Box Delivery To Kate Middleton: Royal Couple Baby Shower Gift Of....Condoms For Prince William?! History Behind Unique Box

A Finnish baby box has been sent to Kate Middleton and Prince William. The royal couple may not be holding a baby shower, but that didn't stop Finland from sending one of their popular baby boxes, given free to all Finnish infants but wanted by moms in the know around the world.

Finnish babies sleep in boxes-and it's the box everything else they own comes out of. We're guessing the royal baby will have somewhere else to sleep, though.

"We were delighted to receive the very kind gift of the maternity package from the Finnish government. It was a very thoughtful gesture and we're very grateful for it," a Kensington Palace spokesman told press. "I'm sure the duke and duchess will be very interested to see the contents."

The contents include, gulp-condoms. Is that a signal for Prince William?

The box also contains diapers, clothes, blankets, bodysuits, outdoor gear like hats and gloves, a sleeping bag, toys, bathing products for the baby, and a small mattress. The mattress in the bottom, and thus the use of the box as a crib rather than co-sleeping with parents, helps lower the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Ever since the 1930s, every expectant mother in Finland is given a box by the state. The box is full of everything an expectant mother might need --clothes, sheets, and toys -- and the box itself can be used as a bed.

Experts say the box has helped achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates, and it was created when Finland's was almost the highest. During the 1930s, Finland was a poor country. The box was originally only available to low-income families, but that changed in 1949. With that change, in order to get the box, mothers "had to visit a doctor or municipal pre-natal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy," says Heidi Liesivesi of Kela. This step ensured pre-natal care and identified possible problems in the child's or mother's health. And the scheme worked-- by 1979, 100 percent of new mothers were receiving prenatal care in the country, up from 20 percent in 1940.

Expectant mom-to-be Kate Middleton has been getting a slew of baby presents-and the Finnish baby box is the newest. She was also given baby food after touring the 12,500-acre Rhug Estate, which has a 2,500-acre farm that's a top UK organic food producers. Organic baby food company Plum gave Camilla a crate full of baby food grown on the estate.

The box is also a way to bond socially. The colors change each year, and they're in gender-neutral colors, so they can be passed down to a boy or girl. They also represent the year babies were born in, because the clothing in the box changes a little every year. "It's nice to compare and think, 'Ah that kid was born in the same year as mine'," says Titta Vayrynen, 35, who has two young boys.

Father Mark Bosworth said getting the box "felt to me like evidence that someone cared, someone wanted our baby to have a good start in life. And now when I visit friends with young children it's nice to see we share some common things. It strengthens that feeling that we are all in this together."