The History of Diapers

Quick introduction-- near the end of this last semester, Ms. Cristina jokingly assigned me the topic of diapers for a public speaking topic. I responded by actually doing it. This was my presentation.

Ever since the first baby was born, parents have wondered how to dispose of the waste. Native Americans used grass and rabbit skin. In Japan, the common people usually used an ejiko, a cloth basket beneath a mattress with a hole in it. In warmer areas, toddlers might just go naked (Thank you for that image). In Europe, babies were wrapped tightly with long, skinny, pieces of cloth. When these children were a year old, the cloth style would be replaced with a dress (regardless of gender), with no underwear.

In Europe, people rarely changed the baby's cloth. This changing would consist of wiping the infant's bottom, and then powdering with wood dust. Then, the soaked cloth was dried, and then used again, as urine was thought to be health-promoting, and dirt, or any other "filthiness", was natural.

In the eighteenth century, a few wise people criticized this. These people said that wrapping a baby in cloth was unhealthy. Thank you!! The English then decided to just swaddle the rear end. The invention of the safety pin in 1849 helped this a lot. By the 1880s, the commonly used diaper looked a lot like modern cloth diapers. In the 1890s, slick pants were sometimes used to cover diapers.

Of course, there was a bad side to these cloth diapers: Cleaning them!!! This was before the invention of the washing machine, and even with the washing machine, somebody would have to scrap the poop off. EEWW!! In the 1900s, though, diapers were commonly washed with soap and water, and then boiled, and everything under the diaper when it was used would probably have to be washed as well. That's a lot of water, work, and washing. No wonder that it was a mother that invented a waterproof diaper cover. Marion Donavan invented the waterproof diaper cover from a shower curtain. She called it, "The Boater".

The first modern disposable diaper was invented by Victor Mills, and was first seen in 1961 as Pampers. They were a huge success, even though there was no tape, they were huge, and they only came in two sizes. This was soon fixed, and the diaper market began.

Even though we do still have problems with modern diapers, would you rather live with those cloth diapers? Here are some of the problems with disposable diapers: Some environmentalists say that with all of the diapers used, this fills up landfills. Others say that diapers, since they are so easy to use, delay toilet training. This may be true, but there are always things going in landfills, and what about the water that would be used cleaning cloth diapers?

Today, we have all sorts of sized diapers that absorb liquid waste, and we have special wipes to wipe bottoms with. Everyone regards these things as disgusting, but I think that a few of those early practices top this. And remember, the next time you see a box of diapers, don't think, GROSS!! Think of the alternative!