I am often asked why I cloth diaper my baby. Quite simply, I have no desire to wear plastic underwear myself and find it a little selfish to put cloth underwear on my own body but subject my baby to plastic underwear. In short, cloth diapers are surely more comfortable than disposable diapers. That being said, there are a lot of other great reasons to cloth diaper a baby.
Cloth diapering is cheaper than disposable diapering. It costs approximately $2,000 to disposable diaper a child from birth until the time he is potty trained. It costs approximately $1,500 to use a diaper service for the same child. It costs between $300 and $1,000 (depending on the type of diapers used) to cloth diaper, including the cost of electricity and water needed to wash and dry the diapers. And the same cloth diapers can be used by multiple children!
Cloth diapering is better for baby's health than disposable diapering. A baby's skin absorbs at least 48 toxic chemicals from disposable diapers. These harmful chemicals include chlorine, dioxin (which can cause cancer), sodium polyacrylate (which can cause skin and respiratory problems, including asthma), and tribytil-tin (which can cause liver disease and hormonal problems). In fact, polyacrylate was removed from tampons in the 1980s because it increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome. Studies have also linked disposable diapers to urinary tract infections in baby girls.
Cloth diapering is better for the environment than disposable diapering. Diapers are the single most common found item in landfills, and experts estimate it takes 250-500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose. Disposable diaper companies argue that cloth diapers are bad for the environment because of the water and energy needed to wash and dry them. However, disposable diaper manufacturing plants surely use more energy in creating disposable diapers than that used by the combined individual households to wash and dry cloth diapers. Furthermore, parents can minimize environmental concerns by using energy efficient appliances and a front-loading washing machine, and by hanging diapers to dry (or partially drying them in the dryer and finishing them on a clothes line or drying rack). Finally, it is illegal to dispose of human feces in the trash, yet most disposable diapering parents ignore this law and the potential health and environmental dangers it may pose.
Cloth diapering causes less leaks and blow-outs than disposable diapering. My baby has had no more than three blow-outs and half a dozen leaks in the first 14 months of his life. (And four of the leaks were likely caused by his mama not snapping the diaper tight enough.) On the other hand, one of my disposable diapering friends had at least five blow-outs a day during the first few months of her daughter's life.
Cloth diapering creates fewer diaper rashes than disposable diapering. Most diaper rashes are caused by too much urine moisture too close to the skin for too long a period of time. Cloth diapers breathe better than disposable diapers, and cloth diapered babies are changed more often than disposable diapered babies.
Cloth diapered babies potty train earlier than disposable diapered babies. Disposable diapers are designed so the baby cannot feel the wetness caused by their urine. Unlike cloth diapered babies, they don't easily associate urinating with an uncomfortable wet feeling. Cloth diapered babies are potty trained an average of six months before their disposable diapered counterparts.
Cloth diapers are cuter than disposable diapers!
As a side note, washing cloth diapers has turned out to be much less of a hassle than I thought it would be!
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