Our friend in Taiwan who recently had her baby boy in February this year shared with us a few tips on how to get free baby stuff completely in Taiwan specifically when you are pregnant. Being 35 weeks pregnant, I was in the middle of buying baby items when I found out from our friend.
Before we found out from our friend, we never thought to look for freebies for pregnant women nor thought that companies would even give such substantial freebies worth spending time hunting down.
One of the best freebies we received, which was recommended by our friend is from a French baby store called Les Enphants. It’s generally known as a high quality, high end baby brand here in Taiwan. Luckily there is a store in the Dream Mall complex a few minutes from our apartment. Keep reading to see what we got from Les Enphants 🙂
How to get free baby stuff
I can’t really speak on experience getting freebies in Australia or the US but will talk in detail of the steps to access freebies in Taiwan. In Taiwan, you are given a pregnancy book when you start making regular doctor visits and selecting either a private center or public hospital.
The book is organized by the government here in Taiwan. Upon each visit to the doctors, information about your pregnancy including your blood pressure, weight etc. are recorded. This book is a standard practice here in Taiwan. Though I am not sure if this is done in other countries.
It’s hard to find out which companies or stores provide freebies but there are many blogs in Chinese that show you where to get them. For us, our friend who has had experience with her own pregnancy showed us a selection of the best freebies.
In order to receive the freebies you must show your ID and your book. They record your details such as your email address, contact number and home address for marketing purposes. This is in exchange for a free gift pack filled with goodies that would be useful for mums to be.
What we received
The Les Enphants pack was the only one worth mentioning that we received. Apart from the sturdy backpack, it also comes with a whole lot of free baby stuff from various brands that they collaborate with.
The freebie was pretty substantial with loads of samples of products such as mittens, towels, baby wipes, tea (specialized to encourage production of breast milk), baby safe laundry powder, baby socks, pacifier, baby bottle and more. There were also a few discount cards and vouchers available to encourage you to purchase baby products at their store.
Where to Find Freebies?
Other than the Les Enphants freebie, we also signed up to the many nappy brands for some free samples of nappies. Our friend was kind enough to help us fill out the forms online as they were all in Chinese.
I believe this can be done in many countries including the US and Australia. Brands such as Huggies and Pamper all provide free samples online with a simple online form that needs to be filled. You can receive a maximum of 2 of their nappies delivered to your door. Though there is a household limit of 2 order samples per year, it’s always a great way to try nappy brands for your newborn to figure out which brand your baby likes best.
Other than that, you might find a few other freebies from other smaller brands looking to market their products. Typing into google to find them is simple and effective. I know that Target and Amazon provide free bundles of goodies for parents to be who create a gift registry online. But keep in mind that this is only applicable in the United States.
If you are considering taking a lamaze class throughout your pregnancy, you might find that companies also advertise and provide a selection of free goods to try out. This is in exchange of your contact details in which they will use for marketing purposes. We personally did not complete a traditional lamaze class here in Taiwan as it would be in Chinese. But our friend did say that the products given are mostly no good or no use and told us it would be a waste of time.
Your hospital or private medical center may also provide a pack of goodies. My friend in Taiwan said that this occurs in Taiwan, where all new parents receive a gift pack from Nestle via their hospital.
Update: We got more free baby stuff from the hospital unexpectedly which included a thermometer, mild shampoo, rash cream, a large container of baby formula, bulb syringe (to clean the nose), a umbilical cord care kit and more. It was good to know beforehand so we didn’t buy any of these items and instead are waiting on our freebies on the day we check out of the medical center. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take a photo of what I received as it was pretty crazy taking our daughter home for the first time.