What's In That Gel In Your Child's Diaper? Alternatives Beyond Cloth.
When I was pregnant and planning for the birth of my son, there were lots of decisions to make, including what type of diapers he was going to wear. I decided organic cotton was the route to take, so I loaded up on dozens of them: rainbow trimmed flannel, all-wool covers for overnight, and lightweight, breathable covers for daytime. Once he was born, I quickly realized that non of these diapers were going to fit, including the 2-dozen or so newborn-size I purchased. So until they did, I got on the disposable bandwagon. Once he was large enough to wear them, he had a reaction to every diaper cover I tried. Two years later, there those diapers sit. Bottom drawer, full to the brim.
A few days after he was born, I ran out of the diapers the hospital had given me, so bleary-eyed, I went out to the store. The brightly-colored packages of Huggies, Pampers, Luvs and generic store brands all stared me in the face, with babies on several of the packages that looked nothing less than possessed. When I read the labels, I noticed, in rather small print, a message to mothers (if my recollection serves me): if a small amount of gel ends up on your baby, simply wipe it away. Gel. Gel? What's the gel for? What's in it? Why do diapers need gel?
Did I buy a package? Yes. I had no other choice, or so I thought. I used them for a few days, and I noticed the gel they were talking about on my baby's bottom. I wiped it off, and called the customer service line at Proctor & Gamble, makers of Pampers. After waiting nearly seven minutes on hold, I finally got to ask my questions: "what's this gel made of? Is it harmful?" The representative told me, "the gel can occasionally come out of the inside of the diaper if it becomes over-saturated. It's made of "polyacrylate", just like the stuff that gel-caplets are made of." When I pressed her as to what, exactly, "polyacrylate" was, she answered with," it's just a polymer, it's not harmful at all. In fact", she added, "it's also used in our Always pads. Would you like a coupon?"
Written By: Dawn Gottlieb, Please contact her with your comments or suggestions for future articles.
