A leaky case against disposable diapers. No unless you plan to substitute the diapers with the flawed scientific study underlying those news reports. German researchers monitored the scrotal temperatures of 48 boys, ages birth to 4 years and 7 months, using a non-invasive thermal probe. They reported that scrotal temperatures of boys wearing plastic-lined, disposable diapers were about 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than scrotal temperatures among boys who wore cotton diapers. The study appears in the October issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Serious questions exist about the study's methodology.
But the truly flaky claims are the assertion that male fertility is on the decline and that disposable diapers have played a role in the decline. These data gaps alone should have prevented the researchers from jumping to any conclusions. The test also didn't reflect real-world use of cotton diapers that are typically worn with plastic pants to prevent leakage, according to the Personal Absorbent Products Council, a business group. The temperature probes were designed for adults, not babies. Infant testicles are small in comparison with the scrotum.