When you think of diapers today you
generally think of Pampers or some other brand that is extra soft to
protect your baby’s skin while strong enough to hold all the things
they are supposed to for a long period of time. However, how much do
you know about the history of diapers? What do you know about the
diapers used 50 years ago or even 1000? Probably not very much so
this article will attempt to shed some light on the history of
diapers.
Not too long ago cloth diapers were
the “in” thing. In fact, during the last century cloth diapers were
the best way to handle those accidents by baby until disposable
diapers were introduced in the 1940s. Other plastic coverings for
cloth diapers were introduced before this, however a real disposable
diaper was not available until the ‘40s and even then they were a
luxury afforded to few.
This means that for thousands of
years individuals had to deal with baby bowel movements in other
ways. Elizabethan times allowed for a cloth type of diaper, however
it was changed so infrequently that several days worth of waste
accumulated. Other ancient diapers consisted of animal skins, moss,
linens, leaves, and the like. Some babies in tropical environments
never had ancient diapers at all because they were mostly naked!
The history of diapers began a major
evolution in the early 1800s. At this time cloth diapers were used,
however they were rarely washed and just dried before reapplying.
However, individuals started to realize the importance of diapers,
protecting furniture, not to mention their baby’s skin, and cloth
diapers began improving somewhat as well as the hygiene. The 1940s
experienced a bit of revolution, however it would be the ‘60s and
‘70s that saw a major development in disposable diapers.
In the 1950's there was another big
change in the diaper. Mrs. Hellerman - owner of a diaper service in
Milwaukee - went to the Kendall Company, which made Curity® brand
diapers, with a new invention. It was a fold that put extra cotton
layers in the centre of the diaper and made it about the right size
for most babies. The fold was sewn shut, and the prefolded diaper
was born.
The history of diapers only continued
to improve throughout the ’80s and ‘90s with new technology, lighter
yet more absorbent fabric, and cute designs. Today diapers are
becoming more comfortable, thinner, and environmentally sound.
Comparing today’s diapers with ancient diapers or even cloth diapers
is a major difference and diapers continue to change. The history of
diapers looks as if it will continue on forever.
Diaper Timeline:
Ancient
Times - Documents show that babies of ancient times may have
used Milkweed leaf wraps, animal skins, and other natural resources.
Babies were “wrapped in swaddling bands” in many European societies
since antiquity or strips of linen or wool that were wrapped tightly
around each limb and then crosswise around the body. Innuits, an
Eskimo people, placed moss under sealskin. Native American mothers
packed grass under a diaper cover made of rabbit skin, as it was
done by the Incas in South America. In warmer tropical climates
babies were mostly naked and mothers tried to anticipate baby’s
bowel movements or urinations…this would be called elimination
communication today and is still practiced.
Late 1800's - infants in
Europe and North America were wearing the progenitor of the modern
diaper. A square of rectangle of linen, cotton flannel, or stockinet
was folded into a rectangular shape and held in place with safety
pins.
20th Century - In the early
part of the century cloth users were boiling diapers as they became
aware of bacteria. During
World War II, the increase of working mothers brought the need for
the "diaper service". Fresh cotton diapers would be delivered on
an as-needed basis.
The first disposable absorbent pad
used as a diaper was probably the one made from unbleached creped
cellulose tissue (held in rubber pants) in 1942 by Paulistróm in
Sweden, maybe because cotton had become a strategic material due to
the war effort. A few years later in 1946, in the United States, a
Westport housewife named Marion Donovan, invented the "Boater", a
waterproof covering for cloth diapers. Her first model of the
disposable diaper was made of shower curtain plastic into which a
conventional cloth diaper was inserted. Marion was granted 4
patents for her designs, including the use of plastic snaps that
replaced the traditional and dangerous "safety pins".
In 1950 the prefold diaper was invented by a diaper service owner
and produced by Curity. Also in 1950 the Safe-T Di-Dee diaper was
invented. The diaper was preformed and was the first pinless, snap
on diaper. It was invented Sybil Geeslin (Kennedy) who subsequently
sold the patent when she needed money to build a house. They were
then sold as Keystone Safe-T Di-Dee Diapers and were nationally
distributed. (See the newspaper articles for this diaper here:
Image One and Image
Two.)
With the 60's the disposable diaper
evolved quickly. Instead of tissue, a pulp mill was introduced.
Using cellulose fibers instead of paper, improved the performance of
the diaper.
Recent years have brought many
"improvements" to disposable diapers. However, in the early 90's
cloth diaper users remerged with environmental issues, concerning
the use of disposables. By the latter part of that decade and the
beginning of the next many large cloth diaper manufacturing
companies were well established.
In 1995 the
Motherease company was
formed and began selling by mail order in the US, although the owner
(Erika Froese) had been developing and selling her diapers since
1991 (mostly in Canada) and using cloth since 1981. They are one
size diapers called Sandies, named after one of her children.
Catherine McDiarmid’s BornToLove.com,
a Canadian site, was one of the first major diaper sites to emerge
in 1997. BornToLove.com is recognized for its extensive articles on
cloth diapers and is still a great resource to this day.
In 1999 Poochies™
and HoneyBoy™
were developed and became quite popular. HoneyBoy diapers were so
popular in fact that the owner Jodi Mack would often auction off her
wares for over $200.00 per diaper.
Cuddlebuns™
Cloth Diapers were
introduced to the diapering community in 1999 and were a one-size
diaper that could fit babies from infancy to potty learning. All
three of these diapers brands eventually became available for the
general public to sew through cottage licensing and are now owned by
BabyByYou! Also in 1999
Kissaluvs started an online business to sell fitted and contour
diapers. These years also see a tremendous amount of growth in the
amount of moms who begin sewing their own diapers.
21st Century:
In 2000 the ever popular
Fuzzi Bunz opened an online
store selling the Pocket Diaper as invented by the WAHM owner,
Tereson. Originally they fleece on the outside and inside. Later
they were made with PUL outers and fleece inners and round tabs.
Both looks were different from what you see today.
Stacinator fleece diaper covers also
came out in 2000 and became very popular. This company has since
been sold to Happy Heinys.
The phrase "hyena" was
also coined around
this time or shortly thereafter when Kendell from Freshies commented
on how all the diapering mamas were so ruthless in their stalking of
hard-to-get diapers, and said in a joking way that they're just like
a pack of hyenas, closing in for the kill....and the term stuck. So
now hyena diapers are the hard to get but much sought after diaper
brands available today.
The year 2000 also brought the Diaper
Pin, a web site with cloth diapering articles and a place to review
all the cloth diaper brands available.
In 2002
Happy Heinys pocket diapers
came on the scene and have proven to be a very popular and reliable
cloth pocket diaper.
In 2003 "Wahm Boutique" and "Tuesday Bear" the first WAHM
congos for diapers and other WAHM items opened up to the public
blazing a trail for WAHM conglomerates of today.
Also in 2003 wool soakers became
popular overnight and this resulted in a slew of WAHMs selling hand
knit wool covers/soakers. DryBees pocket diapers also hit the scene
and quickly became a favorite. In 2004 and 2005 the soakers evolved into
wool longies or pants. Both are equally popular today.
In 2002 and 2003 are also known by
many experienced cloth diapers WAHMS as the diaper war years. Larger
cloth diaper companies began threatening smaller ones with legal
action and accusations of pattern or patent infringement. Motherease
threatened legal action as they tried to protect their pattern for
the one size diaper and Fuzzi Bunz threatened legal action to
protect their patent on pocket diapers. Many small WAHM diaper
makers closed, deciding the industry was too cutthroat.
In 2004
Karen Fegelman, the owner of Kool Sheep Soakers, figured out how to
program a simple shopping-cart system that would not oversell, and
that would be super-affordable and easy for a WAHM to use. and
Hyena Cart was born. It is
still used by WAHMS everywhere today as their only method of selling
or a supplement system. 2004 and 2005 were also the host to an
explosion of growth in the cloth diapering community. Many new cloth
diaper sewing and retail businesses were started. The presence of
WAHM congos also saw a tremendous amount of growth.
Also in 2004 and 2005 designer
diapers are the rage and some more sought after brands can be sold
at auction for $200-300.00 with some charity auctions bringing in
over $500.00 for cloth diapers. Online forums explode with cloth
diapering communities (MDC taking the lead) and many new web sites
dedicated to cloth diaper information and reviews open their doors.
Diaper sewing is a hot pastime and many online resources, patterns,
and diaper fabric stores open.
Visit our
diaper timeline...
Want to add to this history page?
Share with us your insight into the history of diapers by
emailing us!
