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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — <\/span>California families welcoming newborns will soon receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving the hospital under a first-in-the-nation program announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n During the program\u2019s first year, it will be offered at about 65 to 75 hospitals that handle about a quarter of births in the state and largely serve low-income patients, Newsom’s office said. The initiative will expand to more hospitals statewide, though the governor’s office did not say how many. The state has partnered with nonprofit Baby2Baby to manufacture the diapers under the label \u201cGolden State Start.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom said the plan builds on California’s effort to make living in the notoriously expensive state a little easier for families. He highlighted policies in recent years to provide students with free meals at school<\/a> and make preschool free for all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery baby born in California deserves a healthy start in life \u2014 and that means making sure parents have the basics they need from day one,\u201d the Democrat said in a statement.<\/p>\n The state set aside $7.4 million in last year’s budget to roll out the initiative, and this year’s budget proposal includes an additional $12.5 million to implement the program for the upcoming fiscal year ending in June 2027. <\/p>\n It will allow each family to receive 400 diapers in sizes for newborns and babies up to 14 pounds (6 kilograms) when they are discharged from a hospital after birth. That’s a little more than a month\u2019s worth, since newborns on average require eight to 10 diapers a day. <\/p>\n Baby2Baby provides families in need with essential items. The nonprofit built a manufacturing system that allows them to produce diapers for 80% less than the retail price, co-CEO Kelly Sawyer Patricof said.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia is once again setting the standard of what it means to show up for mothers and babies,\u201d added co-CEO Norah Weinstein.<\/p>\n