What Is In Your Baby’s Diaper?

​Babies and toddlers wear, on average, 2,500 diapers a year.  The components and chemicals that make these products are important.  Many people do not know how baby diapers are made.

What Is In Your Baby’s Diaper?
By Pierre Mouchette | Bits-n-Pieces

Babies are particularly vulnerable to harm from chemicals.  An infant’s exposure to chemicals is more significant, pound for pound, than that of an adult.  Their organs and systems are still developing, making them more vulnerable to damage from toxic chemicals.  A baby’s delicate skin more easily absorbs chemicals.  It is significantly thinner and more permeable than an adult’s.  The skin near the genitals is even more susceptible to exposure to potentially harmful substances, especially those linked to cancer and endocrine disruption.
Are you aware of diaper chemicals and toxins such as dyes, chlorine, formaldehyde, pesticides, phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other harmful substances?
 
Regulation of baby diapers
For the most part, baby diapers are unregulated and may be unsafe.  Regulation of baby diapers needs to be strengthened, but the government has failed to act.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates baby diapers, does not require manufacturers to test materials or products for an array of worrisome chemicals or to disclose the ingredients. 
All parents must seek legislation to require diaper manufacturers to disclose all materials and chemicals used to fabricate baby diapers.  Several layers are used to create baby diapers. One or more chemicals are used for the diaper to change color when it comes into contact with urine. A change in the color of the diaper’s indicator alerts the caregiver that the diaper is wet.
Note:  PAHs can contaminate materials found in wetness indicators and are linked to reproductive issues, lower body weight, and congenital disabilities in mice. 
 

​All diapers must be made without any concerning chemicals and disclose all materials and ingredients on their packaging.  As consumers become more informed, the market will move to meet needs and expectations.