Diaper Need Revealed in New Study

In the United States, 1 in 3 mothers have had to cut back on food in order to provide diapers for their children, according to a new study.

The study was conducted among a nationally representative sample of mothers with babies 0-4 years old in diapers in the United States and Canada (1,513 mothers in the U.S. and 1,008 mothers in Canada).  The Every Little Bottom  study was conducted by Abt SRBI Inc. and commissioned by Kimberly-Clark and Huggies diapers. Study findings included:

• 1 in 3 mothers in the U.S and 1 in 5 mothers in Canada have had to cut back on household necessities such as groceries, heat and electricity, or miss bill payments, in order to to provide diapers for their babies.

• Mothers in diaper need reporting having to miss work, as most child care facilities require a day’s worth of diapers – thereby missing wages and perpetuating the diaper need cycle.

• One-third of mothers struggling with diaper need run out of clean diapers every month or more frequently.

• Mothers without enough diapers will attempt to reuse soiled diapers, extend the time the child is in a used diaper and other measures that effect the quality of life of the child and the guilt and distress of the mother.

Dr. Cybele Raver, a professor at New York University and lead researcher on the study stated, “This issue of diaper need – mothers struggling to provide diapers for their babies – is serious and has been largely unrecognized until now."

Diapers are not covered by most community-based organizations in the U.S. Food assistance programs like food stamps, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provide parents in needassistance only for food, infant formula and nutrition.  

In response to the study's findings, Huggies and Kimberly-Clark have pledged to donate up to 20 million diapers to diaper banks throughout the United States, and 2.5 million diapers to facilities in Canada, over the next eight months. Last week, Huggies made an inaugural donation of two million diapers to ten local diaper banks across the country.  

In exchange for the assistance, the diaper banks are working with Huggies to help develop sustainable solutions to diaper need, and forge national and local partnerships to increase community-based support for struggling families.

Individuals that would like to participate in diaper drives, increasing local awareness or would like to read more about the Every Little Bottom study findings can visit Every Little Bottom.com.

Jessica McFadden is the author of A Parent in Silver Spring.com, a website for families in the Washington DC area.  She is a social media partner for the Huggies Every Little Bottom campaign and is a paid consultant to the program. If you would like to learn more about how you can assist local organizations that provide diapers to babies in need, send an email to jessica [dot] mcfadden [at] g mail [dot] com.