The Diapering Experience, Part 1

It's that time. Time to start thinking about diapering.  If you're anything like me you, A) grew up in disposable diapers (yay 80's) and B) babysat kids that were in disposables.  They were easy, and the commercials made it seem as though you were an old lady if you thought about using the cloth diapers.

So in comes the magical, disposable diaper! No need to laundry! No stinky pails! Happier baby and mom!

Sounds pretty good right?  Back then, it legitimately seemed like, and probably was. The disposables did a better job with overnight protection and didn't have all the chemicals that have oh-so-nonchalantly been added over the decades. Now however, there are reports flooding in of children getting rashes and even worse chemical burns from some of these diapers!  Chlorine, which is a dioxin has been linked to reproductive issues and cancer, can cause chemical burns. Also, is a newly developed (around 1970's-80's) little known chemical called Super Absorbent Polymer  (SAP).  These bad boys are tiny little crystals which are supposed to absorb leaky fluids and feces odors.  Pretty awesome sauce yes? Well, it would be it weren't linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). What I found out, is that this is the same ingredient put into tampons that we are given those huge pamphlets about in each box warning us to not use past the recommended time because of the risk of TSS.  And we are putting that in our vaginas, and apparently on our babies' very sensitive genitals. That kind of made me think twice about using non-organic tampons again! 

The other ingredient that kind of shocked me is Phthalates. This ingredient is added to plastics to make them nice and soft, like a very soft and pliable vinyl, or in other instances, to give a cloth like feel to the outer layer of diapers.  Now that did not really concern me at first, however, as I kept reading it was noted that they "are not a tightly bound chemical and can continuously be released into the air or through leaching into liquids."  What goes in a diaper? Liquids. Other gross stuff too, but yeah, liquids. Apparently this chemical is already on the medical community's radar which is great, but not so great that it is still being used in regular disposable diapers.

It's kind of scary to me that they will include a warning pamphlet about TSS in our tampons, but not be on the box of diapers that our babies wear 24/7, for years. And the lack of transparency about ingredients in diapers leaves something to be desired as well.  At last though, consumer voices are being heard and more "natural" diapering products are being produced. You can get them, dye and perfume free, and if you feel like paying the price, get the super special "Premium Chlorine Free" from the major brand names of diapers :/. 

Diapers that made it past some testing and were found to be fairly safe from aforementioned chemicals and free of dyes and perfumes are the following

Bambo Nature

Attitude

Earth's Best

I find it very sad that we live in a time where we have to demand "organic" and "natural" from everything we buy since greed from corporations have lead to doing nothing more than using chemicals to make everything and allows us to pay for the privilege of poisoning ourselves. Ugh.

Anyway, if you do feel like using disposable diapers, whether all the time, or just for when baby is at daycare, with the sitter, or at the grandparent's house, please take the time to investigate what is in your diapers and take a look at this article which was written by a mother who is also a MD. She has great links in it to other sources and articles which can help you to make more informed decisions. 

Link to the BabyGearLab article is HERE 

Other helpful articles on disposable diapers:

Disposable Diapers: Are They Dangerous

Which Brand is Best for Your Baby