Cloth diapers and hip development

We aren't doctors and can't provide any medical advice.  Ask your doctor and do your own research.   Cloth diapers have been used for generations and people walk.  Thus over all the generations, I think that if cloth diapers were a problem, we'd know it by now.  Many say it is helpful to keep baby's legs wider apart.  Recently I read that the current trend of swaddling babies for too long, when baby is too old for it, might be a possible concern for hip development. I don't know but I wonder.  I do think it is important to put diapers the baby on comfortably - not overly tight.  I don't like it when my clothes are too tight, so it seems logical that my child wants to be comfortable too. So don't squash your kiddo by putting things on super-tightly.  Here are my thoughts on this common question about bulky cloth diapers. 

1.   Hip sockets develop better in cloth because wider hip placement is a good thing, as exemplified with the use of a Pavlik Harness in cases of hip dysplasia.

2.   Cloth diapers pad the bum when babies fall as they learn to walk.  Perhaps the cloth diaper may help protect the spine during those frequent falls.

3.   It is easier to hold a cloth diapered baby. There is more to hold on to.  I doesn't feel like baby could slip down easily.  Easier to hold is good and helpful.  It feels secure for both the adult and the baby and security is a good thing.

Here is what we commonly see in our Facebook discussion board when the question of hip development and bulky cloth diapers comes up.    

Join the discussion on Facebook at Green Mountain Diapers Friends Group.