Contents
How diapers harm a child’s health – the opinion of a doctor, Tatiana Butskaya
Our permanent expert, pediatrician Tatyana Butskaya commented on all the most common myths about diapers.
“A year and a half – and everyone is in diapers …” – the grandmother shakes her head disapprovingly, looking at the son of Xenia. Well, yes, a boy in a diaper. Well, he doesn’t want a pot. Do not forcefully sit down – psychologists say that this way you can instill a fear of a potty in a child. “Do you know what happens to boys from overheating?” – grandmother raises her eyebrows pointedly. Ksyusha rolls her eyes – she has heard all these songs more than once. Is she worried? Sure. Indeed, in every myth there may be some truth. We decided to dot the i’s once and for all and asked Tatiana Butskaya, a popular medical blogger and pediatrician, to dispel or confirm the horror stories associated with diapers.
“Diapers cause infertility in boys, as well as cystitis and inflammation in girls”, “because of the greenhouse effect in the diaper, the baby’s skin does not breathe and smelt”, “reusable diapers are much better than disposable”, “using diapers, then it is difficult to potty train the child “. I, as a pediatrician and #AttorneyFruit, always stand up for the child, but these myths require discussion and explanation.
The main argument for the development of infertility in boys is overheating of the testicles when using a diaper. Overheating is possible only when two conditions are combined: high humidity plus tightness. There can be no one or the other with the correct use of the diaper. The diaper absorbs moisture, turning it into a gel. That is, there is no moisture as such. And, accordingly, there is nothing to evaporate, increasing the humidity. As for the tightness – it is not created inside the diaper, as it is made of breathable materials. Girls can have cystitis and pyelonephritis only if they grossly neglect the rules of hygiene and keep the baby in a diaper for days without changing it. Which is highly unlikely.
The greenhouse effect causes diaper rash
The gel that the diaper converts the urine into minimizes moisture build-up as much as possible. Therefore, in a diaper, if it is used correctly and hygienic rules are observed, the greenhouse effect does not occur and the skin remains dry. What’s important? Change the diaper every 3 hours, as well as immediately after a bowel movement, arrange preventive air baths between diaper changes and select the diaper according to the child’s weight and age. And do not skimp on business diapers, where cellulose instead of gel.
Reusable diapers are better than disposable diapers
Reusable diapers have their own nuances. Due to their specificity, they have significantly lower absorbing properties. That is, they do not provide absolute dryness. Therefore, skin contact with urine for some time is inevitable. Again, we return to the rules of diaper hygiene – if you change a reusable diaper on time, do not allow the baby to be wet for a long time, then you can practically reduce the risk of diaper rash to zero. But it is quite difficult to immediately catch the moment when the child pee and immediately change the diaper. It turns out that reusable diapers even increase the risk of skin problems.
It’s hard to potty train a baby after diapers
Of course, if you don’t use diapers at all, toilet training will be faster. But in any case, not earlier than the baby is physiologically and psychologically ready for this. After all, in order to learn how to control bowel movements and give mom a signal, the brain must reach a certain maturity. Roughly speaking, at 3 months, the baby will still not be able to ask to go to the toilet under any circumstances. And then everything depends on the desire and consistency of the parents. Any child should be toilet trained – both those who spent their infancy in diapers and those who did not use them.
Summing up, I want to say that all the harm from diapers, which is written about on the Internet, can only appear if they are used incorrectly! Change more often, adjust the size, make sure that the diaper does not chafe or cause allergies.