When Edmonds resident Cordy Harris got furloughed from her movie theater job in March, she worried about providing food for her young family — and diapers for her infant.
At one point — before the stimulus check came through and unemployment benefits kicked in — she used dish towels because her supply had run out.
“It makes you feel like a failure as a mother,” she said.
Harris isn’t alone in her struggle to purchase enough diapers. Even before the pandemic’s devastating economic toll, one in three American families reported experiencing diaper need, according to the National Diaper Bank Network. That’s only gotten worse in recent months as diaper banks across the country have reported “astronomical” increases in demand.
While diapers have always been a popular item at the Edmonds Food Bank, the pandemic has heightened the need, said Executive Director Casey Davis. From March to June, about 100 new families with children ages 0-3 joined the food bank, she said.
“We had more people come over from surrounding areas and use our food bank because we could address their need for diapers,” she said. “They were more than grateful.”
Not just discomfort
While there are obvious health links between inadequate diaper changes and skin irritations or urinary tract infections, research suggests the lack of diapers also increases parental stress.
Caregivers who feel they can’t provide this basic need often see their confidence falter as their emotional burden grows. That parental stress can take a toll on a young child’s health and development, experts say.
“If you’re worried about supplying diapers for your child, that really doesn’t leave a lot of room for attachment and bonding and doesn’t allow for a feeling of self-efficacy and confidence often in parenting,” said Megan V. Smith, an associate professor of psychiatry in the Yale School of Medicine in a recent Center for Health Journalism Covering Coronavirus webinar.
Those points resonate with Julie Turcotte, the grandmother of Harris’ young children who helps care for them. If there are only two diapers left until the end of the week, you’ll make them last — and that can undermine your confidence as a caregiver, she said.
When you see a child’s swollen diaper and know they’ve been sitting in it too long, it’s a “pit of your stomach feeling,” she said.
Helping the most vulnerable
For parents of young children facing food insecurity, buying diapers is an ongoing issue because disposable diapers are “ridiculously expensive,” Davis said. Plus, many of the food bank’s customers don’t have access to a washer and dryer for reusable ones. Federal assistance programs such as WIC and food stamps don’t provide diapers and they can be costly for food banks to offer.
Years ago, the Edmonds Food Bank received a grant to offer diapers. When they witnessed the clear need, they decided to continue with the program, which now provides about 16 diapers a week plus wipes per child.
While that’s not enough to cover complete usage — infants require up to 12 diapers daily while toddlers need up to eight, according to the National Diaper Bank Network — the hope is that it puts a dent in the expensive purchase for cash-strapped families.
Now that the Edmonds Food Bank is a nonprofit, Davis hopes to apply for more grants to expand the diaper program.
“I don’t want a parent to have to make the decision: Do I let my child sit in a dirty diaper or do I put food on the table?” she said.
The pandemic has added another layer to the challenge of providing diapers, she said. Suddenly, they weren’t just costly, they were hard to come by. Stockpiling diapers forced the food bank’s buyers to search the area, hitting up multiple stores in the quest to find a sufficient supply. When community members offered to help the food bank, Davis sometimes asked them to purchase diapers at retailers that had imposed limits.
In recent months, they’ve been distributing about 4,000 diapers a month on average, an increase over the same period last year.
For families who are already experiencing other worries, knowing your baby has a clean diaper is a much-needed relief, said Turcotte, who added that the diaper offering has helped her own family tremendously during these tough times.
“There could be so many things to worry about that you don’t want to worry about diapers,” she said.
— By Kellie Schmitt
This article is part of an ongoing series exploring the impact of coronavirus on the life, work and health of Edmonds residents. If you or someone you know has a story to tell, please email us at myedmondsnews@gmail.com. For other stories in this series, click here.
The Link LonkJuly 23, 2020 at 11:06PM
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Coronavirus Chronicles: Out of work and out of diapers - My Edmonds News
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