Babies are precious, gurgling, adorable little munchkins whose smiles can light up a room. From food to toys and especially diapers — it's no wonder we want what's best for them all the time.
Who could resist this face? Honestly. Image by iStock.
Up until the middle of the last century, parents exclusively used cotton diapers to help keep their babies dry and clean. But one mother, Marion Donovan, wasn't happy with the mountains of dirty laundry her babies created — not to mention the mess leaky diapers made on her bedsheets.
Her solution — a plastic shower curtain cut to size and filled with a cotton insert — is widely considered the world's first waterproof diaper cover and the inspiration for fully disposable diapers.
Nearly 70 years later, disposable diapers make up about 66% of diaper sales worldwide, with an estimated 18 billion disposable diapers bought and used in the United States every year.
Diapers have come a long way from plastic shower curtains. The companies who make them have a vested interest in ensuring the babies wearing their products are safe, healthy, and leak-free.
That said, if you've listened to the news in the last few years, you've probably heard some scary things about disposable diapers and how toxic or terrible they are — that they cause horrible skin rashes or might contain chemicals that cause cancer. They're the kind of stories that stick in our heads — especially for concerned caregivers. Which is totally fair since babies wear diapers almost all the time during their first few years of life.
Who wouldn't want to know whether that's safe?
Keeping this sleepy bun safe should be a national priority. Image by iStock.
The fear and distrust of the diaper industry might stem from the fact that it's considered "self-regulating." Companies that make and sell diapers aren't required by law to share their full ingredient lists. Consumers have to trust that they're telling them everything they need to know. For some caregivers, simply knowing there's a chance they're not getting the full story is frustrating — especially if they're looking after a baby with very sensitive skin and want to keep track of what's in everything that touches them.
So what's in a disposable diaper anyway?
Image by iStock.
There are three main parts to a disposable diaper: the top sheet, the absorbent layer, and the backing sheet.
The top sheet is the part of the diaper with direct contact to a baby's body. It's most often made from polypropylene, a common ingredient in thermal underwear that's considered safe for young skin. The backing sheet has a similar story: It is most likely made from polyethylene, a breathable but leakproof barrier that's proven to be safe for human use.
This little dude has more important things to think about than a leaky diaper — like working on his sweet kickflip.
The absorbent layer gets its power from a mixture of fluffy cellulose pulp and sodium polyacrylate granules. These granules can hold 800 times their dry weight in moisture, helping keep baby's skin dry even when a diaper is very full.
The good thing is that most disposable diapers are perfectly safe.
Sodium polyacrylate made headlines in the 1980s when hundreds of women using super-absorbent tampons infused with sodium polyacrylate contracted toxic shock syndrome, a rare bacterial infection.
Fortunately, the FDA says there's no risk in using the chemical in diapers, as sodium polyacrylate is harmless outside the body. Similarly, researchers have found that fears about exposure to dioxin in chlorine-bleached products like diapers and tampons are equally unfounded.
There have been tests upon tests upon tests of ingredients in disposable diapers and they've all, consistently, said the same thing.
As of May 2016, the Food and Drug Administration has never needed to issue a recall for any diaper. This little tush is safe and sound. Image by iStock.
Let's be real, though. There are other, extremely important factors influencing what kind of diapers caregivers use.
For people concerned with their environmental footprint, disposable diapers might not be the best choice. Some disposable diapers will take hundreds of years to break down in landfills — and two to three years of changing diapers six or more times a day can really add up. There are compostable or biodegradable diapers available, but those are often more expensive, and for caregivers on a tight budget, they may be out of reach.
President Barack Obama talked about the high cost of diapers for low-income families on Mother's Day 2016. It's such a common phenomenon, there's even a name for it: "the diaper gap." As the president said in his post on Medium:
"I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be a parent that has to choose between diapers and other basic expenses. Access to clean diapers isn’t just important for a child’s health and safety. Research has shown that mothers who are unable to afford diapers for their babies are more likely to suffer from maternal depression and mental health issues. No mother or father should have to worry about keeping their baby clean and healthy because they can’t afford diapers. America’s parents — and children — deserve better."
There are environmental, financial, and practical issues to consider when choosing disposable or reusable diapers.
They're all important, and it's not always an easy decision. But the more you know, the easier it is to understand the trade-offs.
Now isn't that a breath of fresh air?
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."