Diapers are among the basic needs for a baby who cannot even talk and explain his problems, let alone go to the toilet. Likewise, feeding bottles are very important for babies who are not yet able to drink water or milk from a glass.
So how did ancient parents cope with the absence of all these tools?
Although babies in ancient times were more dependent on breast milk than today, they also needed a bottle that could serve as a feeding bottle.
At this point, archaeologists discovered that babies of that time used pots of various sizes, such as small cups and bowls with drinking spouts, to serve as feeding bottles.
Although some researchers suggested that these pots were used for the care of the elderly and the sick, the majority agreed that they were for feeding babies.
Additionally, some vessels from the Bronze and Iron Age unearthed from children’s graves in the 1990s confirmed this theory. Scientists analyzing the ancient ruins in the containers came across various milk samples in these pots that served as feeding bottles.
The bowls and pots, thought to date from around 1200 to 800 BC, also served a different purpose.
Bioarchaeologist Rebecca Gowland states that some of these bowls and pots resemble animals and were made for the purpose of making children smile as well as feeding them.
In the light of these studies, it shows that ancient babies were fed animal milk even when they were younger than 6 months. These vessels were widely used for drinking water as well as milk.
What about when there are no diapers?
Valerie Hunter Gordon invented a two-piece diaper in 1947 after her third child. This cloth consisted of an outer layer sewn from old nylons and an inner layer made of thin wadding and cotton wool.
These diapers designed by Gordon were disposable, just like today, and gave rise to the idea of baby diapers. Three years later, Pampers brand diapers were launched and became very popular.
Before disposable products were available in the Western world, cloth diapers were used.
Parents often directed their babies to early toilet training to avoid the process of doing laundry. Historically, there isn’t much information about what was used other than cloth diapers.
In addition to using cloth diapers, babies were swaddled to meet their toilet needs, and these dirty swaddles were changed and wrapped with new ones twice a day. However, this method would cause babies who wait for hours with their feces to catch various diseases.
In this case, babies were asked to go to the toilet outside or in the potty.
Some chairs designed in Archaic and Ancient Greece served as both high chairs and chamber pots. Additionally, the leaves of petasites hybridus, a plant known for its antiseptic properties in traditional European medicine, were used as a kind of toilet paper.
In ancient China, the toilet problem was solved with open-frame trousers designed to allow babies to urinate and defecate without undressing. With these trousers, babies could sit on the potty or toilet with the help of their mothers, so there was no need for diapers.
It is possible to say that the problems related to babies’ toilet needs and nutrition are now a thing of the past.
Baby diapers, which have undergone different changes over the years, have undergone major innovations. Current diapers have superior absorbency and are very soft and breathable. Thus, problems such as irritation and redness are largely eliminated.
In addition, the baby can move easily thanks to the flexible side bands. Again, there are diapers of different sizes for each age and month, and there is no trace of odor.
Again, in ancient times, the only way to feed babies other than breast milk was animal milk, but nowadays there are many options. Organic baby foods, follow-on milk and various supplementary foods are quite successful in replacing breast milk.
In summary, many things have changed and developed in terms of baby care from past to present. While mothers at that time had to deal with great difficulties, nowadays the baby’s feeding and stool problems are far from being a problem.
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