ARE PAMPERS DESTROYING OUR BABY’S LIVES?
By: Neferu Nynetjer Re
January 19, 2008 my life changed for the best. I had a healthy 7 pound 3 oz baby girl who was delivered naturally with no drugs at a birthing center. I had in mind to breast feed her, giving her the very best of everything. But who knew that I was secretly poisoning my baby, breaking down her immune system and destroying her reproductive system. No one knew I was doing it everyday and at times even in front of people. I was told by doctors how to do it. I watched it on television and saw many advertisements promoting the product which you can get from many stores world wide. I know at this point your thinking what in the hell is she talking about. I’m speaking about disposable diapers. Disposable diapers are secretly killing our babies. Our babies spend 25,000 hours in diapers and will need over 6,000 diaper changes during their very first year of life. But no one ever told me they are toxic.
Chemicals in disposable diapers are absorbed through the skin and when inhaled the fumes can trigger asthma like symptoms. Disposable diapers have been on the market since the 60’s. They contain a super absorbent pad and chemicals like Dioxin which is banned in most countries and is an extremely toxic by-product of the paper bleaching process. Most toxic of them all is the cancer linked chemicals, sodium polyacrylate, Tolune, ethylbenzene, styrene and isopropylbenzene that stick to your baby’s skin. When your baby urinates or sweats these chemicals seep through the skin. Researchers have found that various brands of disposable diapers can trigger asthma and cause male infertility. The temperature of the male’s scrotum should be a constant 72 degrees in order for proper sperm production to contiue. Diapers lined with plastic raises the temperature of the male’s scrotum.
The cells supporting sperm production are produced during the first two years of a boy’s life. The testicles need to be cooler than the rest of his body that is why the two testicles are external. Exposure to high temperatures dramatically reduces the sperm count. The insulation property of the disposable diaper hinders the bodies cooling system. Studies have shown that the average sperm count has dramatically fallen by almost half and are continuing to decline as fast as 2 percent a year.This is just the tip of the iceberg. Researchers also found evidence that fumes from these disposable diapers are responsible for respiratory difficulties, such as Bronchoconstriction which is a narrowing of your air passage in the lungs that cause respiratory difficulties. Even in a mid-size room, the fumes from one diaper were high enough to produce asthma- like symptoms. Researchers on behalf of these disposable diapers say further study is needed to determine what level of diaper chemical fumes trigger infant respiratory distress. In the meantime Doctors advise asthmatic mother’s to avoid exposures to these chemicals, so I guess everyone else can be the test dummies.
Look at your precious babies eyes and tell me do they deserve that kind of treatment? According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54% of one month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, and 16% had severe rashes. A survey of Procter & Gamble’s own studies show that the incidence of diaper rash increases from 7.1 percent to 61 percent with the use of disposable diapers. Manufactures of diaper rash medicines promote the use of disposable diapers because they are making enormous profits. Your baby’s bottom itches, burns, and swells due to the fact that no one told you the dyes found in disposable diapers are known to damage the central nervous system, kidneys and liver.
If you still doubt that disposables are not bad, why are the employees who work in the factories owned by Pampers suffering from fatigue, female organ problems, slow-healing injuries and weight loss? For the people who don’t have children, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends with children, an estimated 5 million tons of untreated body excrement which may carry viruses, is brought to landfills via disposables. This may contribute to groundwater contamination which attracts insects that carry and transmit diseases. 3.4 billion gallons of oil and over 250,000 trees a year are ripped from our earth to manufacture disposables that end up in our crammed landfills. Diapers are made up of 30% plastic and do not decompose. Even if the rest of a diaper could be decomposed, the plants could only handle about 400 of the 10,000 tons of diapers thrown in landfills each day. Cloth Diapers are safe for your baby. There are no toxic chemicals, or tabs that fall off tearing your baby’s skin. Everything is all natural just like nature.
I know when you think about cloth diapers the picture of pins, terry cloth and plastic covers comes in mind. Today cloth diapers barely resemble the ones your parents used! They go on just as easily as disposable diapers. When a new mother starts breastfeeding, or even supplementing with baby formula; one sign that she’s producing enough milk for her baby is the amount of wet diapers that baby uses. If you use cloth diapers the wetness in the diaper will reassure you that your baby is getting enough milk. A reduction in bowel movement can be an early sign of illness. If you use cloth diapers the cost would be “between” $300-$700 in contrast to the 2,500-3,000 dollars it would cost per year using disposables. Wouldn’t you rather put your money in the bank oppose to putting it in the garbage. Lastly, Researchers say that toddler’s potty train much earlier and a lot quicker, than those that wear disposables due to the fact they are able to feel wetness so they can make a connection between feeling wet and going to the potty. Whereas the chemicals in disposables absorb wetness keeping your child dry. So there are all your facts! With just a simple change of your diapers you can go a long way.
