Most parents and unfortunately most physicians fail to realize that diapers play an important role in both the baby’s environment and skin health care. It is important to consider that cloth diapers are as good for your baby’s skin as they are for the earth’s.

Parents should ask themselves: What diaper can best respond to the four functions of the skin in preventing diaper rash? What diaper is safer? More economical? Convenient? And, finally, because of the discomfort it can cause, how seriously can diaper rashes affect the health of an infant?

Cotton breathes, letting air circulate to baby’s skin. And, unlike chemical-laden disposables, cotton diapers are naturally absorbent. It also means less friction on tender skin, reducing the likelihood of diaper rash.

Disposable diapers, it turns out, aren’t all that disposable. In fact, the 18 billion being dumped on the earth’s surface each year will be there for centuries – contrary to the “don’t worry about it” ads which suggest that these throwaways are being recycled into compost of all things!

The good news is that more and more babies today are wearing reusable cloth diapers. Because diaper services are so resource efficient they use only a fraction of the water and energy used to make disposables or to wash diapers at home.