Do Cloth Nappies Restrict Movement or Delay Development?

You’ve probably heard all the myths about cloth diapers by now. If your a seasoned nappy user your well versed in the hard eye roll when comments about your babies nappies are made. But when it comes to your child’s development even the most confident of us have a little niggling doubt when someone says “Those cloth nappies are causing them to have bowed legs,” or “they should be walking already, it must be their bulky nappy slowing them down.”

There are two things to remember when thinking about your babies movement and how cloth nappies effect them and that is the evidence in front of you that generations before us wore bulky cloth nappies with no lasting effects on their development and secondly the science that bulk between babies legs not only does not hinder a child but can put their legs in the optimum position for healthy hip development.

Cloth nappies do not slow the learning of rolling, sitting, crawling or walking. There are a number of reasons a child develops when they do including cultural and generation practices as well as when the baby is ready in their own time.

I’ve put together all the evidence I could find to prove that cloth nappies are in no way affecting your child’s development. Let’s dive in to that evidence so when your “well meaning” Mother-in-Law makes the “why isn’t he walking yet” comment across the Christmas dinner table you can tell her why he is perfectly normal. Or you know, just put your own doubts to rest.

Do cloth diapers slow down a babies ability to sit or roll over?

Reusable cloth diapers will not hinder your child’s development or ability to learn to roll or sit. However sometimes when a baby is learning to roll they do find it easier when they are nappy free so providing some nappy free time and tummy time will help them master it.

As with crawling and walking your baby will do everything in their own time and bulkier reusable nappies will not slow this.

Since I started using reusable nappies I have been a part of serval online groups for cloth nappy parents. Many times parents have come on to talk about the fact that their baby rolls over when they take their nappy off but not when it’s on. The answer to this is simple. They will of course have slightly more freedom when the nappy is off, so when they are not so seasoned at moving around some may find easier to roll without their nappy but once they have mastered it there will be no problem at all. Remember not all babies roll and they will all do it at different time. My daughter never really rolled and showed little interest in tummy time but still crawled by 71/2 months, my son rolled at 3 months and now at 7 months spends all his time on his tummy, commando crawling around the place. They will all do it differently.

As for sitting I have not experienced or found any evidence for babies struggling to sit in cloth nappies but when fitting the nappy I do always recommend leaving the nappy around the waist looser so it does not dig in when they sit up.

Do cloth nappies slow or affect walking?

Cloth diapers will not slow your child’s ability to walk. Studies have found that once mastered a baby will walk in the same way weather they wear a disposable nappy, a bulky old fashioned nappy or a modern reusable nappy. There is some evidence to say that the extra bulk (a slight extra challenge) could speed up a babies ability to walk.

The study published in the National Library of Medicine found that ALL nappies in some way affect the walking of a child. But found this not to be a problem, stating that though a diaper either disposable or bulkier cloth nappy introduced a gait (a wider stance) in babies steps and did cause novice walks to fall slightly more often compared to when walk naked, but showed little signs of affecting them once they had masted walking. 17 out of the 30 toddlers examined walked freely whether naked, in disposables, or in cloth.

The study however also talked about different cultural practices having an affect on when a baby starts to crawl and walk. “Cross-cultural practices such as enhanced handling routines and experimental manipulations that encourage infants to fight gravity show us that factors which challenge developing motor skills lead to accelerated onset ages and a faster course of improvements for skills such as sitting and walking (Adolph, et al., 2010; Adolph & Robinson, in press). In the same way, being forced to compensate for the perturbation of the diaper might actually accelerate skill acquisition by actively challenging infants’ developing motor skills.”

And remember a little extra bulk gives a nice cushioning when they do fall on their bottoms, helping them to keep trying to walk when in reusable diapers.

What can we take from this study.

I think the main take away here is that a little nappy free time, no matter what type of nappies you use, is healthy. Perhaps children do walk slightly better in the EARLY stages of walking without a nappy, so let them try with and without a nappy. The Go Naked study showed that once they have mastered it nothing will get in their way. Nappy free time is also good for their skin too, a little air does wonders, so let them run around and maybe just have a potty within grabbing distance.

What is the average age my child should walk at?

Below are considered average developmental milestones for your baby's ability to walk from the Boston Children’s Hospital. Unless your child is showing any signs outside of this there is no need to worry, and although there is not an exact study linking age of walking to the type of nappy your child wears, you do not need to worry that the two are linked.

6-10 months — most babies learn to pull themselves up to a standing
7-13 months — most babies will be moving about while holding on to furniture for support. Babies can walk with support from a parent (but don't force them into walking on their own).
11-14 months — most babies will start to walk on their own, usually by 14 months.
Your child, like most children, was probably born with bowlegs, which usually straighten themselves out as your child gets older.

Cloth diapers and Bow legs.

Baby on the beach in a wet suit walking with slight bowed legs/

There is no evidence that links cloth diapers to causing bow legs. Bow legs are common in babies and toddler because of how they develop in the womb but will naturally straighten out as they grow. Extra bulk between the legs does not effect this.

Most children who appear to have bow legs will begin to grow out of it, their legs naturally straightening, at around 12-18 months. If they still appear to be bow legged after two years of age you should seek advice from a doctor as there could be another cause such as Blount’s disease or rickets. Source: Health Line.

Healthy hip development and Cloth nappies.

Cloth diapers hold a baby legs in the optimum position that aids healthy hip develop, both by introduction bulk between the legs but also adding a slight lift of their spine when lying on their backs which encourages them to lie in a frog like position.

To explain this in more detail let’s start with talking about how a babies hips work. In the womb they are all curled up. Which is why their hip ball and the socket are not fully formed at birth. This becomes fixed at around 2-3 years and is why we all can’t do yoga the same way a baby does. Sitting a newborn in squat positions slings or in cloth nappies encourages them to hold their legs in a position where the hip ball sits in the socket, lessening the chances of hip dysplasia. The Nappy Lady gives a great description in more detail on this subject.

I knew these facts about their hips but when I actually had a newborn in a nappy, sleeping in the side cot next to me I developed a different worry. Her spine. The way her spine was curved ever so slightly from the bulk under her bottom. Turns out this isn’t a problem and as The Nappy Lady explains the lift in the bottom encourages the hips into that frog like position when they sleep which is also encourages their hips into that correct position.

Below you can see two images from the International Hip Dysplasia Institute. The left image shows the babies legs straight, you can see how the bone is not sat in the hip joint. The image on the right shows the leg set wider apart and the bone sitting in the hip joint. This is a healthy position for hip development.

This isn’t to say that if your child wears disposables they will develop hip dysplasia, not at all. In fact there’s lots to say it could be down to genetics or positions in the womb, but that a bulky nappies encourages a healthy position and does not hinder it, which is the particular myth we are busting here.

Other modern factors that can affect hip development.

According to the book Care for Newborns there could be a number of reasons that the number of hip dysplasia cases has risen in certain cultures in recent years, “…in modern Western society, putting infants for long periods in baby carrier and car seats as well as the use of very slim disposable nappies which do not abduct the hips as widely, could also affect hip development.”

This is why it is important if baby wearing for long periods or little and often, using a sling that aids healthy hip development. The International Hip Dysplasia institute recommends “when babies are carried, especially for prolonged periods of time, the hips should be allowed to spread apart with the thighs supported and the hips bent.”

Mother carrying a baby in a wrap sling, hips are supported well in this position.

Their research shows that carriers that do not support their hips are still okay to use for short period of time.

My own experiencewith cloth nappies and mobility.

Toddler running at the water edge on a beach with great mobility after wearing cloth napppies.

My daughter did in fact walk with bow legs when she was under a year, I too worried it was linked to her nappies (now of course disproven), she now 4 years old walks with beautifully straight legs. She did indeed grow out of it by 18 months.

As for her mobility, she crawled at 7 months, walked aided at 9 months and was fully walking independently at 10 months. If the nappies had slowed her down it wouldn’t have been a bad thing. Forever desperate to run, our fast paced girl. My son pretty much followed this pattern exactly except for the fact he was rolling earlier and pulling himself along commando style at 6 months. In comparison I have friends, some with babies in cloth and some in disposables that didn’t walk until 16 months. All is totally normal. In fact those babies were far more ahead in the vocabulary department, having full conversations by 18 months where as my daughter was too busy running and was still only trying to say “Mama” at this stage. It seems they do one or the other. The brain handles one development at a time and that’s just fine. By the time they reach school age, all will be talking, walking and exhausting us in the same ways.

Remember that each child is different and will develop in their own time. Do not let anyone tell you they “should be” doing something by now, unless you have real worries about their development in which case talk to your health visitor, who will send you in the right direction if needed, or set your mind to rest.

I hope that has answered any questions you may have had about cloth nappies and mobility.

You can now use your nappies happy in the knowledge that all is well.

Hannah xxx