What’s Really in Your Baby’s Diaper? Uncovering the Truth

Read the label and do some research to ensure that you’re choosing a diaper that is safe and healthy for your baby.
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baby in diapers

As a parent to little ones, you can’t imagine your life without disposable diapers.

Your baby spends the first 2-3 years of his/her life in diapers and goes through at least 1800 diapers in the first year itself.

Now have you ever wondered what your baby’s diaper is made of? Are the chemicals used in disposable diapers safe for your baby? Do they pose any substantial threat to the long-term health of your little one?

I wanted to share with you what your baby’s diapers really have. Get ready for some shockers!

Unsafe Ingredients In Your Child’s Diapers

diaper layers

Structural-wise, a diaper consists of-

Waterproof Outer Layer:

This is the outer lining of a diaper. It is generally made of polyethylene film that comes from petroleum. It is the same stuff your plastic is made up of! Some sustainable diaper brands use bioplastic instead which is obviously better for your baby and the environment.

The Inner Layer:

The inner lining that touches your baby’s skin is usually made of polypropylene which is the same stuff used in thermal underwear.

The Absorbent Core:  

The absorbent core of the diapers is made from wood pulp and super-absorbent polymers, such as sodium polyacrylate (SAP). SAP can absorb 30 times its weight in liquid. If you ever got late in changing your baby’s diaper and while changing it, came across those gel-like beads stuck to their skin, that’s SAP.

Aside from it, phthalates are generally used as plasticisers, which makes a diaper flexible and harder to break.

Phthalates in diapers need to be avoided as they can disrupt the endocrine system and cause diabetes, hypertension, obesity and reproductive health issues later in life.

Since diapers stay in contact with the skin of babies for a longer period (say years), it is quite possible that a significant amount of phthalates could be absorbed into the reproductive system through the skin.

While phthalates are banned in European Union, India lacks rules and regulations when it comes to the use of phthalates in diapers. 

baby diaper

As far as the wood pulp is concerned, it is usually bleached white with chlorine. This bleaching process leaves behind dangerous by-products called dioxins.

As per EPA, dioxins are among the most toxic chemicals known to science and highly carcinogenic. Exposure to them can cause skin reactions, alter liver function and impair the immune, nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems.

Your diapers should totally contain chlorine-free pulp (TCF).

Scents and Fragrances:

Most scented diapers contain perfume between their core and outer layers. If you find that citrusy fragrance in a diaper, that is generally citral, a compound found in lemon and orange oil.

The fragrance is an umbrella term that lets diaper brands get away with not disclosing a concoction of more than 100 chemicals also including phthalates that we mentioned earlier. The fragrance manufacturers are not bound to list their ingredients in the name of protecting their “trade secrets”.

As a rule of thumb, always avoid scented diapers.


If you want to totally avoid any of the above ingredients and err on the side of caution, you can look for chlorine-free pulp (TCF) or non-bleached pulp, fragrance-free, phthalates-free diapers. It is impossible to find a diaper that is completely free of all of the above ingredients since nobody is perfect. However, you can find the one that is good enough for your little one and the environment. 

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