A diaper (, North American English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, Hiberno-English, New Zealand English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or containing waste products to prevent soiling of outer clothing or the external environment. When diapers become wet or soiled, they need to be changed by the wearer or often by a second person, such as a parent or caregiver. Failure to change a diaper regularly can result in skin problems around the area covered by the diaper.
Diapers are made of cloth or synthetic disposable materials. Cloth diapers are composed of layers of fabric such as cotton, hemp, bamboo, microfiber, or even plastic fibers such as PLA or PU, and can be washed and reused multiple times. Disposable diapers contain absorbent chemicals and are thrown away after use.
Diapers are primarily worn by babies, toddlers who are not yet toilet trained, and by children who experience bedwetting. They are also used by adults under certain circumstances or with various conditions, such as incontinence. Adult users can include those of advanced age, patients bed-bound in a hospital, individuals with certain types of physical or mental disability, and people working in extreme conditions, such as astronauts. It is not uncommon for people to wear diapers under dry suits.
History Etymology
The Middle English word diaper originally referred to a type of cloth rather than the use thereof; "diaper" was the term for a pattern of repeated, rhombic shapes, and later came to describe white cotton or linen fabric with this pattern. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is a piece of soft cloth or other thick material folded around a baby's bottom and between its legs to absorb and hold its bodily waste. The first cloth diapers consisted of a specific type of soft tissue sheet, cut into geometric shapes. The pattern visible in linen and other woven fabrics was called "diaper". This meaning of the word has been in use in England since the 1590s. By the 19th century, baby diapers were being sewn from linen, giving us the modern-day reading of the word "diaper". This usage stuck in the United States and Canada following the British colonization of North America, but in the United Kingdom, the word "nappy" took its place. Most sources believe nappy is a diminutive form of the word napkin, which itself was originally a diminutive.
Development
In the 19th century, the modern diaper began to take shape, and mothers in many parts of the world used cotton material, held in place with a fastening—eventually the safety pin. Cloth diapers in the United States were first mass-produced in 1887 by Maria Allen. In the UK, diapers were made out of terry towelling, often with an inner lining of soft muslin.
Here is an extract from 'The Modern Home Doctor' written by physicians in the UK in 1935.
Nice old, soft bits of good Turkish towelling, properly washed, will make the softest of diaper coverings, inside which specially absorbent napkins (diapers), see below at 1A, soft, light, and easily washed, are contained. These should rarely be soiled once regular habits have been inculcated, especially during the night period in which it is most important to prevent habit formation 1A -(squares of butter muslin or Harrington's packed rolls of "mutton cloth" in packets, sold for polishing motor-cars, would do equally well and are very cheap and soft)
Wool pants, or, once available, rubber pants, were sometimes used over the cloth diaper to prevent leakage. Doctors believed that rubber pants were harmful because they thought the rubber acted as a poultice and damaged infants' skin. The constant problem to be overcome was diaper rash, and the infection thereof. The concern was that the lack of air circulation would worsen this condition. While lack of air circulation is a factor, it was later found that poor hygiene, involving ineffectively washed diapers and infrequent diaper changes, along with allowing the baby to lie for prolonged periods with fecal matter in contact with the skin, were the two main causes of these problems.
In the 20th century, the disposable diaper was conceived. In the 1930s, Robinsons of Chesterfield listed what were labeled "Destroyable Babies Napkins" in their catalogue for the wholesale market. In 1944, Hugo Drangel of the Swedish paper company Pauliström suggested a conceptual design which would entail the placing of sheets of paper tissue (cellulose wadding) inside the cloth diaper and rubber pants. However, cellulose wadding was rough against the skin and crumbled into balls when exposed to moisture.
In 1946, Marion Donovan used a shower curtain from her bathroom to create the "Boater", a diaper cover made from army surplus nylon parachute cloth. First sold in 1949 at Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store in New York City, the waterproof diaper was later patented in 1951 by Donovan, who sold the rights to it for $1 million. Donovan also designed a paper disposable diaper, but was unsuccessful in marketing it. In 1947, Scottish housewife Valerie Hunter Gordon started developing and making Paddi, a 2-part system consisting of a disposable pad (made of cellulose wadding covered with cotton wool) worn inside an adjustable plastic garment with press-studs/snaps. Initially, she used old parachutes for the garment. She applied for the patent in April 1948, and it was granted for the UK in October 1949. Initially, the big manufacturers were unable to see the commercial possibilities of disposable diapers. In 1948, Gordon made over 400 Paddis herself using her sewing machine at the kitchen table. Her husband had unsuccessfully approached several companies for help until he had a chance meeting with Sir Robert Robinson at a business dinner. In November 1949, Valerie Gordon signed a contract with Robinsons of Chesterfield, who then went into full production. In 1950, Boots UK agreed to sell Paddi in all its branches. In 1951, the Paddi patent was granted in the United States and worldwide. Shortly after that, Playtex and several other large international companies tried unsuccessfully to buy out Paddi from Robinsons. Paddi was very successful for many years until the advent of 'all-in-one' diapers.For more information go to http://www.paddi.org.uk
In Sweden, Hugo Drangel's daughter Lil Karhola Wettergren, in 1956, elaborated her father's original idea by adding a garment (again making a 2-part system like Paddi). However, she encountered the same problem with the purchasing managers, who declared they would never allow their wives to "put paper on their children."Pauliström Mill History
After the Second World War, mothers increasingly wanted freedom from washing diapers so they could work and travel, leading to a growing demand for disposable diapers.
During the 1950s, companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Kendall, Parke-Davis, Playtex, and Molnlycke entered the disposable diaper market, and in 1956, Procter & Gamble began researching disposable diapers. Victor Mills, along with his project group, including William Dehaas (both men who worked for the company), invented what would be trademarked as "Pampers". Although Pampers were conceptualized in 1959, the diapers themselves were not launched until 1961. Pampers now accounts for more than $10 billion in annual revenue at Procter & Gamble.
As Audrey Quinn recounts about the 1980s "Diaper Wars",
Over the next few decades, the disposable diaper industry boomed, and the competition between Procter & Gamble's Pampers and Kimberly-Clark's Huggies led to lower prices and significant changes in diaper design. Several improvements were made, including the use of double gussets to enhance diaper fit and containment. As stated in Procter & Gamble's initial 1973 patent for the use of double gussets in a diaper, "The double gusset folded areas tend to readily conform to the thigh portions of the leg of the infant. This allows quick and easy fitting and provides a snug and comfortable diaper fit that will neither bind nor wad on the infant...as a result of this snugger fit obtained because of this fold configuration, the diaper is less likely to leak or, in other words, its containment characteristics are greatly enhanced."Mario S Marsan. "Disposable Diaper ", US Patent 3710797, Issued January 16, 1973. Further developments in diaper design were made, such as the introduction of refastenable tapes, the "hourglass shape" so as to reduce bulk at the crotch area, and the 1984 introduction of superabsorbent material from polymers known as sodium polyacrylate that were originally developed in 1966.
Types Disposable
The first waterproof diaper cover was invented in 1946 by Marion Donovan, a professional-turned-housewife who wanted to ensure her children's clothing and bedding remained dry while they slept. She also invented the first paper diapers. Still, executives did not invest in this idea, and it was consequently scrapped for over ten years until Procter & Gamble used Donovan's design ideas to create Pampers. Another disposable diaper design was created by Valerie Hunter Gordon and patented in 1948.
Ever since their introduction, product innovations have included the use of superabsorbent polymers, resealable tapes, and elasticised waistbands. They are now much thinner and much more absorbent. The product range has recently been extended to the children's toilet-training phase with the introduction of training pants and pant diapers.
Modern disposable baby diapers and incontinence products have a layered construction that allows urine to transfer to and be distributed within an absorbent core, where it is locked in. Basic layers are an outer shell of breathable polyethylene film or a nonwoven and film composite which prevents wetness and soil transfer, an inner absorbent layer of a mixture of air-laid paper and superabsorbent polymers for wetness, and a layer nearest the skin of nonwoven material with a distribution layer directly beneath which will transfer wetness to the absorbent layer. Some popular brands of disposable baby diapers feature layers of colorful film that decorate the diapers with cute, kid-friendly designs, such as animals or characters from movies and TV shows, while other brands are plain white.
Other common features of disposable diapers include one or more pairs of either adhesive or mechanical fastening tapes to keep the diaper securely fastened. Some diapers have refastenable tapes, allowing for adjustments to fit or reapplication after inspection. Elasticized fabric single and double gussets around the leg and waist areas aid in fitting and in containing urine or stool that has not been absorbed. Baby diapers now have wetness indicators, which consist of a moisture-sensitive ink printed in the front of the diaper as either a fading design or a color-changing line to alert the carer or user that the diaper is wet. A disposable diaper may also include an inner fabric layer designed to hold moisture against the skin for a brief period before it is absorbed, alerting a toilet-training or bedwetting user that they have urinated. Some brands also have a quick-absorbtion layer that pulls urine and soft stool away from the baby's skin, which is helpful to parents, especially after they have put their little one to bed, so diapers don't need to be changed in the middle of the night. Most materials in the diaper are held together with a hot-melt adhesive, which is applied as a spray or in multiple lines. An elastic hot melt is also used to help with pad integrity when the diaper is wet.