Deciding to use disposables or cloth is a personal choice for every new parent. It really depends on your lifestyle and budget. These days, ‘terry cloth’ diapers are old school – most people use ‘modern cloth’ diapers and nappies instead. These are made in a similar shape to disposables, have inbuilt clips and come in a range of styles and colors. There are good reasons to use either though, so make up your own mind!
10 Reasons To Use Cloth Nappies/Diapers
- Good for the environment – You’re not filling landfills with dirty plastic nappies.
- Save you money – You may pay more at the start, but cloth can be used over and over, hundreds of times for just the price of a washload.
- Reusable – You can use them over and over again, and then pass them on to someone else when your child is toilet trained. No need to run out to the shop when you run out of nappies.
- Come in a range of very cute styles – You can get almost any color, theme or cartoon you want.
- Don’t contain harmful chemicals or absorbent gels – Babies with sensitive skin often react to the absorbent balls found in disposables.
- Can lower the risk of nappy rash – Many babies develop nappy rash if they have sensitive skin and react to the chemicals in disposables.
- More breathable for baby’s skin – As opposed to being wrapped up in plastic.
- Convenient and handy – Cloth nappies have changed a lot over the years. With elastic legs and easily fitted shapes, they’re a lot easier to use than terry towels.
- Make toilet training easier – Many parents find the moist feeling of cloth on the skin makes children more willing to use a toilet as they get older.
- Can help with leg and hip problems – If a baby is born with a clicky hip or leg issues, the wider cloth padding can help the problem be corrected.
10 Reasons To Use Disposable Nappies/Diapers
- Easy to throw away – you can dispose of them in your nearest bin, and you don’t have to lug them home when you’ve been out shopping.
- Less washing -You don’t need to do an extra load of washing every day or two.
- Rainy days aren’t an issue – If it rains you can just buy more. You don’t need to worry about drying.
- Don’t have to be changed as often – Because of their absorbency, disposables only need to be changed every 3-4 hours on average, while cloth often needs to be changed every 2 hours or 1-2 pees.
- Easy to pack in a nappy bag – Made to be thin and already packed together, they slot into a handbag or nappy bag easily.
- Comes in the size you need – You don’t have to worry about what size fits, or upgrading sizes.
- No washing off poo – No matter how you phrase it, scraping and washing poo off nappies is never going to be nice.
- Same night and day – You can use the same nappies night and day without worrying about extra fillers, layers or covers.
- Use any creams you want – Because disposables go in the bin, nappy rash creams won’t hurt them. Cloth nappies can break down under the wrong types of creams.
- Your baby won’t have a bulky butt – Cloth nappies are bulkier than disposables and usually require a size larger in clothing.
Susannah is a certified Birth Doula through Childbirth International and the founder of Trimester Talk. With a background in journalism and digital strategy, she combines evidence-based research with real-world knowledge to create accessible content about pregnancy and parenting. She’s a mother of two and stepmother of two more, all of them now teenagers.