New parents in California will soon get one less major expense to worry about.
California is set to become the first state in the nation to provide free diapers to parents of all new babies born in the state, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on May 8, 2026.
Beginning this summer, parents of every newborn delivered in a participating hospital in the state will receive 400 diapers at no cost.
As part of the new Golden State Start program, new parents will directly receive high-quality, mass-produced diapers through participating hospitals.
The diapers will be provided by hospitals at the time of discharge, helping new parents have an immediate supply of baby essentials.
Starting this summer, California will provide babies born in our hospitals with 400 diapers.
By partnering with @Baby2Baby, we're working to help California families focus on their newborns, not costs. pic.twitter.com/lRuL4hudVG
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) May 8, 2026
As part of a wider affordability strategy, including CalRx, the state is seeking out ways to reduce the cost of diapers by challenging the steep prices from major brands.
“California is taking on the cost of raising a family head-on — delivering free school meals, making preschool free for every four-year-old, expanding after-school programs, and now making sure parents leave the hospital with the basics their newborn needs,” Governor Newsom said in a statement.
The Golden State Start program aims to ease financial pressure on families, reduce difficult trade-offs between diapers and other essentials, and support infant health.
California has partnered with Baby2Baby, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, to launch the program, according to the governor’s office.
In its first year, the program will prioritize hospitals serving large numbers of Medi-Cal patients so that lower-income families can benefit first.
Over time, the program will be scaled across other hospitals and birthing centers to reach more families.
The diapers are manufactured for Baby2Baby and will be co-labeled with the program’s name.
The Golden State Start program is an integral part of Governor Newsom’s broader CalRx commitment, along with the Legislature, to make the state more affordable.
Why The Program Matters
Diapers are one of the most basic and essential needs of all babies, and play an important role in maintaining their health and wellbeing.
Diapers tend to be expensive, with an average monthly supply costing around $80 to over $100, according to the National Diaper Bank Network.
While federal and state food assistance programs, such as CalFresh, help families purchase food and other basic necessities, they do not cover diapers.
Due to the high cost of diapers, many families often end up cutting back on other essentials.
One in two families in the country struggles to afford diapers, Baby2Baby Co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof said.
Diapers are at the core of the nonprofit’s mission.
Over the last 15 years, Baby2Baby has distributed more than 300 million diapers to families in need across the U.S.
The organization launched its own diaper manufacturing system in 2021, which produces diapers at 80% less than retail cost.
In addition to distributing diapers, Baby2Baby also advocated for removing sales tax from diapers in California in 2020.
This is great! Hopefully, California will drag the rest of this backward country kicking and screaming into civilized nation status. In actually advanced countries, free child care supplies are the norm for new families.
As always, CA leads the way!