Through good times and bad, people often worry about
what sort of world they are bringing a child into
and yet in spite of everything, we do still keep having
babies. In the last couple of years, most “thinking”
people have come to realize that perhaps they can
do their bit to help the environment and that includes
trying to lessen the impact that your baby, as well
as the rest of your family, has on that environment.
There are many ways in which we can turn to a more
natural way of family life and reduce our carbon foot
print without being seen as “hippies”.
The most obvious by product of a new baby is the
disposable diaper. Disposable diapers have without
a doubt put a huge strain on landfill sites. Every
baby who wears disposables will send about 5000 of
these to landfill sites. This means about 50 million
diapers everyday in the US where they will take up
to 500 years to biodegrade. This is quite a thought
to stomach.
In addition, a baby using disposable diapers for
the first 2 years of his life, consumes 4.5 trees
and puts two tones of solid waste into our environment.
Toxic chemicals in disposable diapers
Sodium polyacrylate is the chemical that makes disposables
super-absorbent, absorbing up to 100 times their weight
in water. However, this same chemical can stick to
your baby’s genitals, cause allergic reactions
and when injected into laboratory rates caused hemorrhage,
cardiovascular failure and death. In the US, this
very chemical was removed from tampons in 1985 when
it was linked to toxic shock syndrome. Dioxin is a
by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in
manufacturing disposable diapers and is the most toxic
of all cancer-linked chemicals. It causes effects
such as birth defects and liver disease in laboratory
animals.
The disposing of disposable diapers
Public health Associations have advised that faecal
material and urine should not be allowed to be disposed
of as regular trash because of the risk of contaminating
ground water and spreading disease. As many as 100
viruses can survive in solid diapers for up to 2 weeks
including live polio virus excreted by recently vaccinated
babies, posing a potential hazard to sanitation workers
and garbage handlers.
By the same token rodents and vectors pose a health
hazard if human waste is mixed with garbage. In spite
of these risks, most soiled diapers are tossed into
household, hospital or roadside garbage.
If you flush disposable diapers down the toilet you
risk contributing to the 95% of all clogged sewer
lines in the US as well as creating 43 000 tonnes
of extra sludge.
The alternatives for disposable diapers
You do of course have the choice to use cloth nappies
with a biodegradable liner. These days, cloth nappies
are well designed so they are less bulky and easy
to put on and take off and they come with a range
of waterproof outers. They can be easily laundered
at home in your washing machine.
A fairly new innovation and one well worth investigating
is the biodegradable diaper that can be flushed down
the toilet. This diaper breaks down in 50 to 150 days
and is growing in popularity amongst parents who are
concerned about the environment.
Other areas of concern
Parents are becoming aware of the frightening studies
about the toxicity of their babies’ environment
resulting in a tremendous growth in the use of organic
baby food, the breast feeding of babies instead of
using formula, the switch to toys made from wood and
other natural products rather than plastic and even
concerns about the paint used on the walls, the carpets
and other floor coverings and the products used in
the cot mattress or the bed linen and clothing. Parents
are increasingly concerned about the amount of toxicity
given off by the chemicals in manufactured goods.
80% of the world’s toys are made in China –
there are 10 000 toy factories in that vast country
and over 21 million toys were recalled during 2007
by US toy company Mattel because of healthy and safety
concerns.
The good news
Many companies today cater for babies and young children
by offering products carefully selected for quality,
purity, safety and produced in such a way that cares
both for the earth and its workers.
Clothes and linen using organic cotton which is grown
and processed without the use of harmful chemical
fertilizers and pesticides (and which have no finishing
-chemicals such as bleaches and fire-retardants which
contain dangerous chemicals such as formaldehyde)
are becoming more widely available and growing in
popularity. The wearing of organic cotton next to
the skin allows ventilation, absorbing body moisture
and helping maintain an even body temperature. Merino
wool is the perfect fabric for new born baby being
soft and non irritating.
Remember that all natural fibers are naturally fire
resistant eliminating the need for dangerous fire-retardant
chemicals to be used.
Very young babies do not need soaps, shampoos and
creams and potions – they are far more sensitive
to chemicals than adults are. So when you do have
to start using cleansing products, ensure they are
made from natural ingredients.
As more and more people are educated as to the advantages
of a more natural way of life, these changes will
benefit our environment but they will also undoubtedly
show an improvement in the health of both the babies
and their parents.
