It is a HELL of a lot more sanitary than some western traditional methods.
WHEN BABIES WORE DIAPERS FOR DAYS
"It's hard to believe, but in Elizabethan times, babies were treated to a fresh diaper every four days! Little sons and daughters of royalty were more fortunate - and changed once a day. The diapers themselves were squares of cloth held on with string tied around the baby's stomach. When the pioneers pushed westward in covered wagons, mothers made all their children's diapers, carefully rolling and hand-stitching the edges. Wet diapers were seldom washed, just hung by the fireplace to dry. The first all-cotton diapers were made in America. A 21 by 40-inch rectangle was folded and tucked and pinned. Mothers might buy six to seven dozen diapers to keep up with their baby."
The truth is, most mothers in early America put their baby/toddler boys AND girls in dresses for a reason - because they could just go bare underneath and lift up the skirt to go on the ground or to the outhouse later. Most children were potty trained by one year.
These women would have been horrified to learn that we now let our children carry their own waste, smeared on their skin, covered by sacks of cloth or paper...
These women would have been horrified to learn that we now let our children carry their own waste, smeared on their skin, covered by sacks of cloth or paper...Malcom Gladwell's article points out that good ol Yankee technology is making our kids the most hygenic.