Disposable Diapers Contain Dangerous Poisons That Can Harm Your Baby

Did you know that disposable diapers contain poisons? It's time to all parents to avoid disposable diapers as they contain toxic chemicals and materials that may be risky to a baby's health. As babies are building their immune system and working to grow healthy organs and bodies to last them a lifetime, exposure to toxic materials can hinder their development and cause long-term problems to their health. Baby skin is also thinner and more prone to chemical injury as chemicals are more readily absorbed into their body.

Disposable diapers are made of a large number of artificial materials such as polyethylene film for the plastic shell of the diaper, polyester (for the porous top sheet of the diaper) polypropylene (for the diaper liner), pulp fluff from chlorine-treated wood pulp (which produces dioxin, a cancer-causing substance as by-product), sodium polyacrylate (toxic super absorbent gel), oil and potentially allergic resin, hazardous perfume, and other harmful chemicals like tributyltin. Some of these substances can cause extensive harm to baby - from painful rashes and asthma to infertility and cancer in adult life.

Manufactures of disposable diapers often claim that it can keep babies dry for hours. This quality is attributed to the use of sodium polyacrylate. This is a gel found in the centre of diapers which locks wetness away from baby's skin. It is added to diapers in a granular powdered form, which turns into gel when wet. Also known as polymer crystals, sodium polyacrylate can absorb 200-300 times its weight in water and hold it in a rubbery gel.

The use of sodium polyacrylate in disposable diapers will facilitate less diaper changing from parents - which leads to rashes because of babies' exposure to absorbent chemicals, bacterial growth and ammonia from accumulated urine in the diaper and at the same time "pulls" natural moisture (not just urine) from the baby skin which will encourage irritation. The substance has been reported to cause severe skin irritation, bleeding from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever and vomiting infections to baby. Baby will spend about 25,000 hours in diapers during the first years of life. This is an extremely long-time to expose babies to chemical present in the diapers.

Using disposable diapers is also environmentally costly. IT about 6,000 diapers change alone will require about 325 kg of plastic for the waterproof backing and packaging. The plastic in turn will need over 2,800 cubic meters of non-renewable gas to make. It also requires the chopping down of 4 - 5 trees to produce enough fluffy wood pulp.

The government should seriously look into the hazards associated with disposable diapers and take measures to reduce them. Meanwhile they should encourage the use of cloth diapers to protect babies and toddlers.