Do disposable diapers expose babies to phthalates through their skin?

What's actually in it

Disposable diapers are not just absorbent paper. They also contain plastic films, adhesives, elastics, lotions, and fragrances. Several of those parts carry phthalates, the plasticizers that make plastic soft and flexible. Phthalates don't stay put. They migrate out of plastic over time, especially when warm skin and urine are pressed against them.

Phthalates are endocrine disruptors. They're linked to lower testosterone, genital development problems in baby boys, and changes in thyroid hormone. Babies spend roughly 24 hours a day in diapers for two to three years. That's a long exposure at the most sensitive time of life.

What the research says

A 2025 study in Toxics measured phthalates in popular disposable diaper brands and then followed infants to see if skin exposure mattered. DEHP, DBP, and DiBP showed up in most diapers. Babies who used the most phthalate-heavy brands had higher levels of 8-OHdG, a marker of DNA oxidative damage, in their urine.

That's a measurable biological change tied to the specific product a parent chose. Fragranced diapers and cheaper brands tended to have more phthalates than simple unscented ones. Cloth diapers don't have this problem.

No regulation currently limits phthalates in diapers in the U.S. Parents who want to cut exposure should look for fragrance-free, lotion-free, TCF (totally chlorine-free) diapers or move to cloth for at least part of the day.