Okay, so the economic aspect was appealing, but what of the argument for DRYNESS and DIAPER RASH!  My archaic thoughts on cloth diapering involved wet laps (MINE for instance), stinky plastic pants, and baby rash.  Whereas, with disposables, the manufacturers promote Super-Absorption properties, water proof outer liners to protect mother's lap/hip, whatever . . .  and even have 'rash-free' varieties with Aloe!  WHAT A SELECTION!

Related Articles The Diaper Drama     Scene 1 - The Costs     Scene 2 - Dryness and Rashes     Scene 3 - Health Issues     Scene 4 - Environment

In my mind I could almost justify the expenditure if I felt it would keep my baby drier and rash free.  At the time though, disposables WERE NOT doing the trick and my daughter had an ongoing diaper rash (despite switching brands and types of disposable diapers).  As far as the rashes are concerned, I found clear answers in several articles - one of which was an article entitled, "Diapers, Disposable or Cotton?" at EcoBaby. 

"Widespread diaper rash is a fairly new phenomenon that surfaced along with disposable diapers.  Reasons for more rashes include allergies to chemicals, lack of air, higher temperatures because plastic retains body heat, and babies are probably changed less often because they feel dry when wet."

The Super-Absorbent qualities of disposable diapers offer a sort of Catch 22.  Yes, it wicks away moisture from your baby's skin, but they also do two other things:

• Facilitates less diaper changing from parents - which leads to rashes because of babies' exposure to the super-absorbent chemicals (more on this later), bacterial growth, and the ammonia from accumulated urine in the diaper.
• 'Pulls' natural moisture (not just urine) from the baby's skin - this too will encourage irritation.

Procter and Gamble reports an average of 5.4 diaper changes are to be made per day (wearing their diaper).  Fearer notes, however, that "a number of researchers and pediatricians say responsible sanitary care dictates changes every 2 hours." 

Even infertility rates in males may be linked to disposable diapers.  So, they are dry, but are they 'cool.'  It is thought that disposables may heat-up a boys testicles to the point that it stops them from developing normally.  "Diapers lined with plastic raise the temperature of the scrotum far above body temperature and can lead to a total breakdown of normal cooling mechanisms, according to the study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood (6)." 

So, WHO CARES if it is super-absorbent?!  Why pay for super-absorbency?  You SHOULD NOT NEED SUPER-ABSORBENT DIAPERS, but instead, recognize that your child needs to be kept in CLEAN diapers!  This not only keeps them DRY, but also RASH FREE.  If you wet your pants, would you sit in them or change them?  Why should we treat our children less than we would treat ourselves?  Can we 'justify it away' because diapers are not the same as underwear?  Why not?  Any woman that has worn a disposable maxi pad for any amount of time has a small taste of what it would feel like to wear a diaper.  Again, 'things that make you go hmmmmmmm.' The Golden Rule could most definitely apply here.