When deciding how to best keep your baby’s bottom clean and dry, you are flooded with a bevy of options. A simple stroll down the baby needs aisle of any grocery store will turn up dozens of disposable diaper options, from plastic to paper, in many different brand names. But are disposable diapers the best thing for your baby? Ultimately, only you can decide which kinds of diapers to use, but before you make that decision, consider these significant advantages, both for you and for your baby, of using cloth diapers:

• Cloth diapers can be less expensive. If cost is a concern for you, you can cut your diapering costs in half with cloth diapers if you launder them yourself. For most babies, disposable diapers cost about $60 to $70 per month. Saving half of that every month can really add up.
• Cloth diapers are better for the environment. While it is true that you use more water keeping cloth diapers clean, that water goes through the sewer system and eventually to a waste water treatment plant. With disposable diapers, untreated waste is added to landfills, which eventually contributes to contaminating the water supply.
• Cloth diapers are better for your baby’s skin. Perhaps the most important reason to use cloth diapers is that they don’t irritate baby’s skin as much as disposables can. Only 7% of babies in cloth diapers experience diaper rash in their first month, compared to over 50% of babies in disposable diapers.
• Recent developments in cloth diapers have addressed many of the convenience issues that have caused a lot of mothers to choose disposable diapers instead. These developments include flushable liners that can be removed (with baby’s poo and pee) and simply flushed. Again, the waste goes to a water treatment plant instead of a landfill, and it is not much less convenient to flush diaper liners than it is to throw away soiled disposables. Another significant development with cloth diapers is the use of Velcro strips, eliminating the need for diaper pins.

While nobody can (or should) tell you which decision to make, it is clear that cloth diapers hold several significant advantages over disposable diapers. Your baby benefits from less skin irritation, and you benefit from having a little more money in your purse at the end of the month, making cloth diapers a win-win choice.

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