Being natural and organic is an important thing in today’s society. Many are still not doing it though. With babies, it is even more important. Babies are much more susceptible to the toxic effects of air pollutions. Babies breathe in more air per pound of body weight than an adult does. This is why they should be using the best products out there. Their products should be as natural as possible and chemical free.
Disposable diapers are a common household thing when there is a baby in the family. Not too many people are using cloth diapers anymore. They are coming back into play though in recent years but more parents than not are still using disposable diapers. Babies are in diapers from the time they are born until they are potty trained, somewhere between two and four years of age. In that time, a child will go through an astonishing eight to nine thousand diapers. That number is per child!! Disposable diapers do not biodegrade well so that causes some problems. Land fills are over full from all types of garbage and as well as all these thousands of diapers per baby.
What is found in diapers will astonish you. There are toxic chemicals found in disposable diapers. How can we be putting our children in these toxic diapers?? Disposable diapers release volatile organic compounds, or VOC. This includes toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and dipentene. These VOC’s have shown to have toxic health effects on the baby, such as cancer or brain damage in some cases. There is even a possible link between diaper emissions and asthma. There are many studies out on that. The main absorbent filler in disposable diapers is sodium polyacrylate. This chemical can cause respiratory problems as well as skin problems. Almost all disposable diapers are bleached white with chlorine. They also have trace amounts of a highly carcinogen byproduct of chlorine bleaching called dioxin.
There are healthy alternatives though to these toxic disposable diapers. First off, there is cloth diapers. Many people used to use this method years ago. A lot of people are trying this method now. It is cheaper than disposable diapers with a little more work. The landfills do not get over crowded and there is no pollution issue with cloth diapers. They are not as absorbent but the pros seem to out weight the cons. Diaper rashes are not as prevalent in cloth diapered children as in disposable diapered children since there aren’t any harsh chemicals coming into contact with the baby’s skin. Cloth needs to be changed more frequently since they are not as absorbent. You can buy covers to put over the cloth diaper so it doesn’t leak.
Another alternative is called gdiapers. This is half cloth, half disposable. It is a cloth diaper on the outside with a disposable liner on the inside. When the child goes to the bathroom, you would just take out the disposable, flushable liner and replace it with a new one. No landfill problem here either. The liners breakdown in the toilet and you just flush them away. You would need to buy the liners, in a pack, but would only need a few of the cloth part of the diapers. They are newer and not as easy to find as disposable diapers and cloth diapers. Maybe in a few years, they will become much more popular and easier to find.
Another alternative is a chemical free disposable diaper from Seventh Generation. Seventh Generation is a leading company in the organic and natural industry. It is brown in color since they do not use chlorine to bleach the diaper white like the leading store brands. There are no characters on them. They don’t even print the size on them. That would require using chemicals. These diapers are just as absorbent as Huggies and Pampers are, just a lot safer. They are not as easy to find as Huggies and Pampers. Most health food stores carry them as does some internet diaper sites. They also have a safer alternative to the wipes out on the store shelves. They also have harmful chemicals in them. Seventh Generation products are chemical free. As far as price, they are comparable to the leading brands prices.
So with all these better alternatives out there, why would anyone still use something that can really do damage to their baby’s health? I ask this question a lot and the answer I come up with from my friends is that they are lazy. Some just don’t believe all of this. They feel that if it is listed as a baby item, that it is automatically safe for the baby. That is just not the case. Chemicals are not a healthy thing for anyone but for a baby, it can prove to be very damaging. With all the new studies that come out daily, I am hoping that eventually, these diaper companies will have no choice but to change the way they make their diapers and make them more environmentally friendly. Babies are born innocent and they all deserve a chance at a great, healthy life. Give them a good start and do right by them. Do your research and pick the best for them.
