Diapers

My Guilt:

I have to admit that I feel super guilty about one thing. That is that I didn't used cloth diapers! Every month that I was pregnant with my two sons I'd buy a pack of disposable diapers. I figured that cloth diapers use a lot of water to wash, they are messy and stink. The two last things I said were true. The water thing, not so much. They use a lot of water to make disposable diapers as well!

The chemicals in disposable diapers did not even enter my mind until my sister had her son that was allergic to all the main brands of disposable diapers. Her son was potty trained much earlier then mine {they only were 2 months apart}. My nephew could feel when he was wet. My nephew also had a lot less rashes then my son.

The Down and Dirty on Chemically Loaded Disposables {Found Here}:

• Disposable diapers contain dyes, sodium polyacrylate absorbent gel, and dioxin, a by-product of bleaching paper that is banned in most countries other than the U.S.
• Scientific research has found a link between sodium polyacrylate and toxic shock syndrome and allergic reactions.
• Sodium polyacrylate is harmful enough to be deadly to pets.
• The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has found that the dyes and dioxin used in disposable diapers can cause damage to the central nervous system, kidneys and liver.
• The FDA (Food & Drug Administration) has received reports that fragrances in disposables have caused headaches, dizziness and rashes.
• Problems reported to the Consumer Protection Agency regarding disposables include chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors, and babies choking from pulling disposables apart and ingesting pieces of plastic. Plastic tabs can also tear skin if the diaper is not properly put on the baby.
• The use of disposable diapers can increase incidences of diaper rash. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54 % of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16 % having severe rashes.
• Scientist’s link male infertility and testicular cancer to disposable diapers: As reported in the
• Archives of Disease in Childhood,
• disposable diapers raise the temperature of baby boys’ reproductive organs, affecting their development.
• Disposable diapers are harmful to the environment: The untreated waste placed in landfills by dirty disposable diapers can contaminate ground water. On the other hand, flushing solids from a cloth diaper down the toilet and washing the diapers in a washing machine allow the contaminated, dirty water from both toilet and washing machine go into the sewer systems where they are properly treated at wastewater plants. This treated wastewater is much more environmentally friendly than dumping untreated soiled disposable diapers into a landfill. It can take several hundred years for the decomposition of disposables to take place, with some of the plastic material never decomposing.
• The process of making a super-absorbent disposable requires more water and cotton than simply washing a cloth diaper.
• It is estimated that it takes a disposable diaper at best about 250-500 years to decompose, long after our great, great grandchildren have inhabited the earth. 

Being Out and About:

• While it is true that disposable diapers are better, they are not always easier. There are disposable diapers that are chemically better then other main brands of disposable ones.
• Bamboo Nature is one brand. There are other eco friendly brands out there as well! The key is to find diapers that have a lot less chemical use and to use cloth diapers as well. 
• 2 lucky readers at One Savvy Mom! will each receive a case of Bamboo Nature Disposable Diapers! Additionally 4 will each receive a BAG of Bamboo Nature Disposable Diapers!