What’s in a Pampers Diaper?

 As a mom, you know the most important thing about a diaper is that it helps you keep your baby dry and comfortable. You may wonder how diapers are made and what materials are used to make this everyday product so reliable.

Pampers Are Designed With Babies in Mind

Disposable diapers have come a long way since 1961, when Victor Mills, a P&G engineer and researcher, was inspired by his baby grandson to design a better disposable diaper.

Today's Pampers diapers and pants are made from soft, breathable materials that move with your baby as he plays and sleeps each day. Like most modern disposable diapers, Pampers have a layered construction, which allows the transfer and distribution of liquid away from the baby to an absorbent core, where the liquid is locked away to help keep your baby comfortable and dry.

How Diapers Work

• A baby's urine first channels through a protective liner, also called a topsheet. Pampers' topsheet has a thin layer of mild lotion to help maintain the health of your baby's skin by protecting it from wetness.

• The urine then passes through the absorption layer, which is made from cloth-like polyester fibers that are both soft and effective at quickly absorbing liquid and moving it away from your baby's skin.

• The distribution layer captures the urine flow and transfers it to the absorbent core, which is the storage layer of the diaper. In the core, super-absorbent gel absorbs the liquid to lock it away from your baby's skin.

• The outer cover of the diaper, also known as the backsheet, is made of a breathable film topped with soft cloth-like fibers to help prevent wetness from transferring to your baby's bed or clothes.

Did you know? Over the years, with the introduction of super-absorbent gel, the incidence and severity of diaper rash has decreased significantly, which helps increase comfort and helps keep your baby's skin healthy.

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Super-absorbent Gel

Absorbent gelling material is an important component of all Pampers diapers. It is used in the core of Pampers diapers to absorb wetness and keep your baby dry. Super-absorbent gel has been widely used since the 1980s in a variety of consumer products including diapers, feminine hygiene products, and food packaging.

Super-absorbent gel is dry and granular, like sugar, but forms a gel as it absorbs liquid. In fact, it can retain up to 30 times its weight in liquid, locking it away to help prevent wetness from coming back to the surface of the diaper and help keep babies drier.

What if the gel touches my baby's skin?

Occasionally, you may see small beads of gel from the diaper on your baby's skin or bedding, but the gel is non-toxic and will not harm your baby. Gel that appears on the skin can easily be removed by gently wiping your baby's skin.

Is the gel safe in my baby's diaper?

Like all materials and ingredients in our diapers, super-absorbent gel is safe. Pampers conducts tests to evaluate the safety of this ingredient — adding to the large body of evidence that shows the safety of this gel for babies' skin.

Across the industry, the safety of super-absorbent material has been proven in more than 400 consumer safety tests studying every way a person could come in contact with it — through skin contact or accidental ingestion by babies or pets. Each study has consistently demonstrated the safety of this material.

Colors on Pampers Diapers

Some Pampers diapers have colors designed to give the diaper a more clothing-like appearance. Pampers uses pigments for these colors, not dyes, because some dyes can cause allergy. The pigments we use are non-allergenic and skin safe. They are also commonly used in other consumer products, contact lenses, and food packaging.

 

How do I use the disposable inserts?

The Pampers Pure Protection Hybrid Diapers disposable inserts feature sticky patches on the back of the insert so that the insert stays in place during use. Simply remove the paper to reveal the StayPutTM sticky sides and adhere the insert directly to the reusable cloth diaper cover at both edges, on top of the fleece lining (on top of the flap). After use, remove the disposable insert from the reusable cloth diaper cover and discard the insert in the trash.

Here's How Many Diapers Your Baby Really Needs. 

Your baby will go through thousands of disposable diapers—and that supply comes with a hefty price tag. Here's what first-time parents need to know. 

Throughout their first few years of life, your baby will poop and pee pretty much all day long. The sheer amount of soiled diapers can be overwhelming to new parents—and cost several hundred dollars annually. Stocking up can save you money in the long run, but if you're new to parenthood, you're probably wondering a few things.

First being, "Um, how many diapers does a baby go through in a day?" Second, "how many diapers should I buy at once?" The exact answers are hard to pinpoint for three reasons:  

 1. On average, newborns go through about eight-12 diapers per day. But   each infant is different so you'll have to learn as you go how predict how   much  your newborn will need changing.

1. 2. Diaper sizes are based on weight instead of age. Each baby grows at a different rate, so it's nearly impossible to predict which sizes they'll need at 3 months old, 18 months old, etc.
2. 3. Diaper demands adjust as babies grow up. Your child will need the most diapers during the newborn stage. By the time they reach potty training age, they may only need four or five daily diapers.

That said, if parents want to estimate how many diapers they need, it's best to break everything down by size. Most manufacturers create diapers in "Newborn" size (10 pounds and under) to size 6 (35 pounds and over). Some brands, like Huggies and Pampers, also make "Preemie" diapers for babies less than 6 pounds, while others offer size 7 diapers for toddlers 41 pounds and over.

As with most things, you can save money by buying diapers in bulk. "Boxes" contain more diapers than "packs"—for example, a size 1 pack usually has 40 diapers, while a size 1 box contains about 164 diapers. Boxes usually have a lower price per diaper, but do your research and budget accordingly. 

Diaper Size Buying Guide

Here's a size guide to estimate how many diapers you'll need—but remember to take it with a grain of salt, since every baby is different. Also note that as diaper sizes increase, you'll generally get fewer diapers per box. For example, you can expect to get 164 diapers in a size 1 box, but only 136 diapers in a size 3 box.

Premie (6 pounds and under): Generally, only babies born prematurely need this diaper size. There's no way to predict whether your baby will be born early—and what size they will be—so plan to purchase these diapers as needed.

Newborn (10 pounds and under): Young babies grow fast, so they'll graduate from newborn diapers after a few weeks. Plan to go through about eight-12 diapers per day, which equates to about one or two boxes (assuming each box contains 140 diapers). Note that many parents receive newborn diapers from the hospital too. 

What Is Inside Those Disposable Diapers? 

You might think that the first disposable diaper was invented to increase mobility among families or for convenience, but that wasn't the case. Disposable diapers were developed by Marion Donovan after World War II due to a cotton shortage. It wasn't long, however, before mothers realized the practical everyday benefits of Donovan's 1950 diaper design: a rectangular plastic covering (initially made from shower curtains) over layers of tissue paper.

Since then, disposable diapers have gone through many changes; including more than 1,000 patents filed in their name. Disposable diapers increased in popularity following the introduction of SAP, Super Absorbent Polymer, in diapers in the mid-80s (more on this below). Today, an estimated 90% of US parents use disposable diapers, much to the chagrin of environmental activists who consider the landfill impact unethical.

Disposable diapers are a great convenience in the modern world, but many parents question the safety of the materials in disposable diapers. Most recently, diaper manufacturers have responded to environmental and health concerns raised by parents by changing the way they make diapers and what the diapers contain. There is a trend toward greener and more biodegradable disposable diapers, which we view as a step in the right direction. However, we're not out of the woods yet and depending on which brand of diaper you choose, the risks and impact can vary. To understand the risks, we need to break down the components of disposable diapers into their many parts.  

Know the Basics

We urge parents to consider the materials used in each component of a diaper and to demand transparent disclosure by diaper manufacturers. (something not often provided or hidden on their company website in obscure locations). A summary of the essential diaper components is below.

• Inner Layer or Top Sheet - this layer sits next to your baby's skin and is, therefore, the front line on any toxicity or materials risk issue. This material is key. We believe you should require your diaper provider to disclose what their inner layer is (we found that many of them don't).
• Absorbent Core - this layer absorbs fluids, but when your baby repositions, fluid can be squeezed out of the core and back onto baby's skin. This liquid can be potentially contaminated by the core materials and is no longer just baby waste. To enhance absorbency, all of the diapers we tested includes a matrix of fluff material and chemical crystals, known as Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP), to soak up and trap fluid (more on this below). The role of the fluff, usually made from wood pulp and may also include wheat/corn-based materials, is to distribute the fluid across the diaper surface, while the SAP is intended to absorb and lock liquids in the core and away from the baby. The bulk of the diaper is composed of the core materials. We consider this the 2nd most important element to understand.
• Waterproof Outer Shell - all disposable diapers include a waterproof material for the diaper's outer shell. This layer is most often a petroleum-based plastic or plastic-treated material. Some green diaper companies use a plant-based plastic (aka bioplastic) to provide the waterproof coating, which you may see referred to as PLA or polylactic acid in their ingredients.