Do you know the chemical composition of the diapers used by babies every day? When I was pregnant with my baby girl, I started to think of this question, as I definitely don’t want to put bad chemicals against my baby’s skin 24 hours a day. Some of the chemicals in the diapers are irritants that may cause diaper rash and many parents will inevitably worry about whether the chemical components in the diapers will affect the baby’s skin. Let’s look at their ingredients and find out if they are safe.
Overview of diaper parts
The basic structure of all diapers are the same. The outermost layer of the diaper is a polyethylene film, which is the same material as the plastic film. The inner layer that touches the baby’s skin is usually polypropylene, which is also a common substance you can find in thermal undergarment. These two substances are harmless to the body. Some brands of diapers use aloe vera and vitamin E, both of which are common ingredients found in diaper rash creams.
The middle absorbent layer of a diaper contains wood pulp (usually chlorine for bleaching) and a polymer water-absorbing resin (SAP). The polymer resin is a compound of sodium polyacrylate, which usually absorbs water up to 30 times its own weight. It has been used since the early 1980s, and it has made the diaper thinner while effectively keeping the baby’s buttocks dry.
Watch out for perfumes and dyes in diapers!
Many cartoon characters and other images on the outside of diapers are made with dyes. Some diapers have a perfume smell, which usually contains citral, and this compound is made from lemon and orange oil. These chemical components in diapers generally do not cause any harm to your baby’s health. However, some babies are allergic to dyes and perfume scents of citral or other perfumes, so there will be some discomfort for babies. If your baby have these allergic problems, you can try a different brand which does not have too much dyes and chemicals.
It is the parents’ responsibility to choose harmless products for our babies, if you want to know more about ingredients in diapers and other babies products, I highly recommend you to visit 1Source or other health apps to analyze your baby’s products. 1Source database has over 500,000 products and ingredients in their database, and it uses Potential Risk Index ranking 1 to 10 (1 is good, 10 is bad) to guide you easily before buying any products. Be wary of advertisements conducted by companies and it is always better to review products ourselves!