The question of whether diapers can harm boys or make them or infertile has puzzled many a mom over the years. Your concern is understandable. Some even falsely say it may lead to low sperm count. This concern is unfounded at best. In the first place, your baby’s testicles will not be producing sperms just yet, until puberty when special cells in the testicles become active. The testicles are safe in the pouch of skin called the scrotum.
The testicles should not to be over heated and diapers do not get heated up to such levels that they can be harmful to the testicles. This applies to disposable and washable nappies used with an outer wrap. Just ensure that they are not tied too tightly around the baby. While there have been worries that if a boy’s scrotum stays too warm, his fertility maybe affected, there has been no proof. No research has been conducted to verify these worries or validate them.
There is a study which found that the scrotums were cooler than the body temperature even when they were covered with nappies. They remained cool whether the nappies were disposable or reusable. The effect on sperm quality cannot be determined, because at that age sperms are not being produced yet. We do know, however, that cooling the scrotum can improve sperm quality. But the effects are thought to be temporary. Some experts advise parents to use cotton nappies without an outer waterproof wrap instead.
Here are some short backs of using diapers.
Skin rashes
Skin rash (diaper rash) is a common condition that can occur due to prolonged usage of wet diaper in babies. The moisture in the diaper is a perfect breeding opportunity for bacteria which cause the baby’s skin to get red, sore, tender and irritated when a diaper is left on for too long and rubs against the skin repeatedly.
Toxicity can harm your baby
An average baby uses 7-8 diapers in a day which means that the diaper is used for almost 24 hours a day. During this time diapers comes in a direct and constant contact with skin of baby which means that any toxic chemicals present inside the diapers can easily enter in your baby’s system if he or she wears disposable diapers all the time. That is the reason ‘free time’ or ‘no diaper time’ is constantly advised.
Allergies
All babies, especially newborns have very sensitive skin and use of any type of diaper can affect their skin. There are many cases where dyes, chemicals, gels, synthetic material that enhance the absorbency of the diapers can actually be a cause of skin allergy in the baby. Also, you have to be extra careful when you start weaning your baby as the content and frequency of baby’s poo can also develop skin rash or allergic reaction in them.
Expensive
Diapers are very expensive especially based on the fact that a baby use 7-8 diaper in a day. The cost of theses diapers varies according to the various varieties present in the market which often cause confusion and concern among parents for choosing the right one for their baby. Many parents believe that a lot of money gets spent in buying diapers only
Can cause infection
When the baby pees in the diaper- the substance which prevents the pee to leak from the diaper also prevents the air circulation inside it. Due to which the environment inside the diaper becomes warm and moist where bacteria and fungi can grow and which in turn can cause skin infections in your baby
Non –Environment friendly
Disposable diapers are considered as non-environment friendly or environmental hazardous products as they are harming the environment through their manufacture and disposal. Tons and tons of disposable diapers containing plastic, urine, feces, paper is constantly contributed from every household gets dumped in rivers and landfills annually. This is proving to be a huge environmental danger. Though companies are coming up with biodegradable disposable diapers, their accessibility is still limited
Toilet training can be harder
Toilet training usually involves certain sounds, cues and signals between parents and baby so that their child can learn to use the toilet for urination and defecation purpose. But in recent times use of disposable diapers have increased the period of child in diapers for a longer period of time as baby feels quite comfortable in diapers and moms and dads also don’t push them for the potty training. Thus this potty training lesson which was generally started earlier in past may get lost in modern times due to the use of these ultra-absorbing diapers
The choice of using diapers available in the market is based upon your own personal preferences, lifestyle habits and financial situation. The best thing to do is to know all the advantages and disadvantages of the disposable diapers and then to make an informed decision on what you think is best for your baby. There have been reports on the chemicals that are used to make disposable nappies soak more and still smell their best, but in the event of having collated very limited data, the same cannot be ascertained with certainty. However, you as parents know that diaper companies are out there to earn a profit and they will do so by luring you to the benefits of using disposable nappies. Yet, making an informed decision is your responsibility. You can always consult your doctor if in case you need to clear certain doubts about using diapers.