Baby diapers

The benefits of baby diapers

Baby diapers are safely used every day by parents all over the world. Since these baby diapers were invented in the 1930s, they have constantly improved. Long gone are the days of plastic outer pants, ill-fitting terry cloth inners and constantly wet skin for babies and infants. Today’s disposable diapers are light, compact, very absorbent, prevents leaks and easy to use.

For babies and toddlers this means they:

Are comfortable to wear due to the softness, lightness and ‘breathability’ of the materials used.
Keep the skin drier and, as a result, healthier. These benefits have been confirmed by independent medical experts in skin and infant health. See report on skin health and hygiene benefits of absorbent hygiene products and wipes.
Are better at reducing the transmission of infectious diseases as faecal containment is reduced so that there is less risk of the spread of bacteria.

Originally promoted for use on journeys, holidays and in temporary situations, modern diapers have now become the diaper of choice for over 95 percent of parents in advanced economies.

The baby diapers:

Are easy to put on and remove
Take up less time than, for example using cloth diapers
Eliminate the need for constant laundering
Are widely available

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A history of diapers

The story of the diapers begins more than a century ago, but it became commercially viable in Europe and North America seven decades ago, in the late 1940s. Its evolution was hardly smooth, however, and the huge success it has become was hardly foreseen at the outset.

In seven decades of diapers the author Davis Dyer takes a long view of the product, and explains its development in four distinct periods:

Product Invention (before the 1930s), when numerous independent inventors sought better solutions to traditional diapering
Early Commercialization (1930s-1950s), when private corporations introduced diapers and slowly cultivated the market
Rapid Adoption (1960s-1980s), when demand exploded as diapers became affordable and widely available
Continuous Improvement (1990s-present), when the leading manufacturers are competing on a global basis to offer consumers a product undergoing constant innovation and improvement.