How often should you change your baby's diaper?

Here's how to check for wet indicators to change a diaper. Follow these tips to prevent diaper rash and infections.

Be it the easy availability or the convenience, diapers are undoubtedly a comfortable and safe option. But when it comes to changing diapers, most moms wonder what is the right time to change them. While changing diapers every three to four hours is what most people believe to prevent diaper rashes, here's what Dr K.P.Sanghvi, Senior Consultant, Neonatologist and Paediatrician, Jaslok, Saifee and Bhatia Hospital, Mumbai has to say. Wondering cloth nappies or diapers? Here's we have a clear winner.

According to Dr Sanghvi, ' There is no point in changing the diaper if it is not wet but after three to four hours and hence, the rule of changing diapers every three hours doesn't hold true in all cases. But then it doesn't mean you wait till it starts leaking as it might lead to diaper rashes when the folds of the remain wet for a long time and also increase the risk of bacterial infection.' However, to prevent this, you can look for wet indicators to change a diaper and change accordingly. Here's are few tips to help you out --

• If the diaper has been wet for more than an hour or two, it starts to stink due to the breakdown of urine, releasing ammonia, which is an indicator to change a diaper.
• If your kid starts crying in the middle of sleep or after a feed, there are high chances that it could be due to a soiled diaper.
• If you sense any foul smell where your kid is sleeping or lying down, it could be an indicator of a soiled diaper requiring you to change one.
• On an average, an infant feeds every three to four hours. So if you feel that the diaper is wet, change it when you pick up the kid for feed.
• Do not wait for the diaper to show signs of leakage or stains to change it as it indicates that it is too late to change a diaper and diaper rash has already set in. Here are 5 tips to prevent diaper rashes.
• Always change a diaper when the kid is not sleeping and not wake them up or disturb them just to change a diaper.

On an ending note, Dr Sanghvi recommends use and changing a diaper during the daytime as the climate is hot and humid and hence, the chances of infection and diaper rash is high during the day, if you don't change it. Don't know how to change a diaper? Here's a step-by-step guide.

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