My friends poor baby, "bitten" by sposies!

I have an NCT friend whos baby had really really bad nappy rash and was advised by the doc to use eco, which helped, but they also said she would probably never be able to use cloth (which she had bought and intended to use soon). whatta shame! I hadnt started with cloth yet, so didnt know any better. If only helath care pros were informed of the benefits of cloth...

Em x

Why don't HVs promote cloth more I wonder?

At the risk of sounding cynical, up until all midwives and HVs are fully trained up on cloth vs disposables - the way they are breast vs formula feeding - and up until they are performance measured (KPIs) or have targets to meet for it, then I think it is unlikely to change
I know that there are those out there who do support & promote clot, but I suspect that they're speaking from personal experience, rather than from any guidance they've been given by those higher up the chain of command.

I've heard several horror stories re the Pampers nappies and can only wonder why they haven't been withdrawn from the market. How many more babes will be made to suffer before someone with the power to do something about it actually does?

Dooby x

I have to say, the stories i hear about disposables make me coil in horror!

My health visitor was retired and then returned to work through boredom! but she is very pro cloth and also blames disposables for later potty training saying she often sees 3yr old that are still wetting too frequently for their age and mothers who are leaving nappies on for far too long.

She herself says she keeps suggesting cloth to new mothers but feels as though people just see it as too much hard work when it soooo isnt!

We are still battling bad rashes on Ellies neck and nappy area which is looking like a referral to dermatology as antibiotic creams and hydrocortisone isnt shifting yet and its been 4 weeks but she has been very supportive and encouraging when i tell her about reusable wipes, nappies etc and all the various things we have tried....

Our antenatal classes as well included a 30 min class on nappies and they had all sorts of cloth nappies there for people to look at and feel and a clothie there to answer questions. Lancashire NHS i think in conjunction with the council are trying to push it .....

Alex
xx

I have to say, the stories i hear about disposables make me coil in horror!

My health visitor was retired and then returned to work through boredom! but she is very pro cloth and also blames disposables for later potty training saying she often sees 3yr old that are still wetting too frequently for their age and mothers who are leaving nappies on for far too long.

Can you imagine the glee as the marketing men at Pampers sat around the table and said 'We have this idea, if we change the nappy so it pulls up and down rather than sticks on, then we can tell the parents their baby is getting ready to potty train. What they won't realise is their baby will still think 'it's a nappy, it looks and feels like I've a nappy on so I'll wee in it anyway'. We can charge double for these pull up nappies - lets just call them pull ups, not nappies, if we advertise them enough people will think they're something special - and our profits will soar. Also the babies will stay in nappies for longer, so we'll do even better for sales'

Where I live I've yet to meet a midwife or HV who isn't pro cloth - they're really big on it here - and as a result I know loads of women who use cloth. It's great. (Means we can all swap to try new ones out too so we can try before we buy)

My main HV is a man and he's obsessed with cloth and really tries with all the silly young chav Mums (sorry for the sterotype but you know what I mean!) and he's got some very unlikely people to try cloth, getting them to spend some of their sure start grant on them.

Can you imagine the glee as the marketing men at Pampers sat around the table and said 'We have this idea, if we change the nappy so it pulls up and down rather than sticks on, then we can tell the parents their baby is getting ready to potty train. What they won't realise is their baby will still think 'it's a nappy, it looks and feels like I've a nappy on so I'll wee in it anyway'. We can charge double for these pull up nappies - lets just call them pull ups, not nappies, if we advertise them enough people will think they're something special - and our profits will soar. Also the babies will stay in nappies for longer, so we'll do even better for sales'

My HV said the same, she said people may as well use normal nappies as most often these pull ups are being put on when the kid is lay down and are too difficult to pull up by the kid!

Its a marketing dream!

I have links to reports by ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood) that nakes for interesting reading about disposables, nappy rash and it's causes. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1313078/

There is also a link to the report about fertility which was research done by two professors at Cambridge Uni and Kiel Uni(Germany). It makes interesting reading. posting.php?mode=reply&f=23&t=64700

One last report that I'll mention is and I quote..."A study published in the October, 1999 issue of the Archives of Environmental Health found that laboratory mice exposed to various brands of disposable diapers suffered increased eye, nose, and throat irritation, including bronchoconstriction similar to that of an asthma attack. Six leading cotton and disposable diaper brands were tested; cloth diapers were not found to cause respiratory problems among the lab mice. "

Whilst I don't agree with the ethics behind the science, the results are speak for themselves!! Links to the report http://www.nickisdiapers.com/pages/Heal ... nfertility

It does always amaze me that people still don't sit up and take notice of the information that is freely available to them. They just accept what they are told by large corporations. I have often quoted these reports to people and they blow it off like I am scaremongering but in actual fact I am presenting (trying to!) information written by well renowned and respected academics in their field.

I do often use the analogy that disposables won't make babies more intelligent, sleep better or for longer, eat better or to do somersaults at the age of 2. That's all just marketing, designed to get parents to spend £100's on rubbish - LITERALLY!!!

I have to say, the stories i hear about disposables make me coil in horror!

My health visitor was retired and then returned to work through boredom! but she is very pro cloth and also blames disposables for later potty training saying she often sees 3yr old that are still wetting too frequently for their age and mothers who are leaving nappies on for far too long.

Can you imagine the glee as the marketing men at Pampers sat around the table and said 'We have this idea, if we change the nappy so it pulls up and down rather than sticks on, then we can tell the parents their baby is getting ready to potty train. What they won't realise is their baby will still think 'it's a nappy, it looks and feels like I've a nappy on so I'll wee in it anyway'. We can charge double for these pull up nappies - lets just call them pull ups, not nappies, if we advertise them enough people will think they're something special - and our profits will soar. Also the babies will stay in nappies for longer, so we'll do even better for sales'

About a year ago my mum bought "pull ups" for Molly, telling me they'd help her potty train. Of course, Molly didn't know any difference between them and any other nappy, and still couldn't pull them up or down herself. They were useful for the times she refused to lie down for a nappy change, but that was it, and they were a PITA when she'd pooed

So many people have commented on my LO's cloth nappies and said "aren't they too bulky? Can they move around in them?" But its just down to disposable nappy adevertising that parents think fabric-thin nappies are essential I have a pack of pampers here that my granny bought for me ("it'll save her boiling those terries" she said ) and they're scarily thin. I feel like I may as well be wrapping kitchen roll round Daragh's bum and taping it on! My mum told me she often had 3 or 4 terries on me, and of course I walked just fine.

I sometimes try to point out the disadvantages of sposies to other parents, but it usually sounds like I'm just a pampers hating hippy! I don't want to make out like its unhealthy to use sposies, some people buy brand names because they want "the best" for their baby and they'd probably be very offended if I tried to tell them otherwise

I will never buy pampers again - ever. I emailed them when they launched the dry max in the UK as I was concerned about the chemical burn stories in US. Their response in short was to email me back to say there was no proof that DRY max cause the rashes that were reported and would I like some vouchers for money off any pampers nappies.

Needless to say I did not want the vouchers and they did little to put my mind at rest about chemical burns. After this story I am more determined not to use them EVER.