cloth diapering

I starting using cloth diapers on Josie when my sister helped me become aware of some pretty scary facts. Some people have given me "that look" like your crazy for using the "old-fashioned" diapers, but when they hear some of the reasons, suddenly I'm not so crazy anymore. Anyway, I thought this might be a great place to share some things I've learned about diapers...

• Disposable diapers "feel dryer" so they are changed less often (sometimes as infrequently as every 4-5 hours) allowing more bacteria to grow thus increasing the incidence of diaper rash.
• Furthermore, plastic does not "breathe" to let out the ammonia formed in the bacterial breakdown of urine, while a cotton diaper and nylon or wool wrap are breathable, allowing air to circula te to the baby's skin, keeping it healthy.
• Of a more serious concern, disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It has not only been shown to cause cancer, but also birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.
• Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.
• Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbancy tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome.
• In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogenesis.
• Then of course you have the environmental aspect that I won't go into detail about, check out the links below for more info.
• Cloth diapers are way cheaper over time

http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/joy-of-cloth.html

http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

It's too bad that more people aren't aware of these facts, but there you have them!