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For families going to the store, diapers aren’t always in stock.
Amanda Trussell, the mother of a 2-year-old boy, said it was difficult to find diapers near her home in Junction City, Kan., Even before the pandemic began and store shelves were failing. had become more empty than last year. and half.
“At one point we went to three or four different stores to find a pack and we had to settle for one size bigger because there just wasn’t in its size,” he said. she said Saturday.
When her family runs out of diapers, Ms. Trussell, 24, puts her son in a reusable cloth diaper. That’s why she didn’t have to go to a diaper bank, which offers supplies to low-income parents.
Diaper banks across the country have reported a recent increase in the number of families who could not afford diapers. WestSide Baby, which is based in Seattle, distributed 2.4 million diapers last year, up 60% from 1.5 million in 2019, according to Sarah Cody Roth, executive director of the organization. WestSide Baby is on track this year to meet or exceed last year’s total, she said.
Diaper banks in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania reported similar trends. Many banks give families 50 diapers a month, which works out to about two weeks, said Cathy Battle, executive director of Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank. This is often insufficient for families who cannot afford diapers.
A lack of diapers can seriously damage a family’s physical and mental health, said Megan V. Smith, senior director of community health transformation at the Connecticut Hospital Association. Many parents who cannot afford diapers feel like ineffective caregivers, she said.
“If you have to worry about where you’re going to buy the next diaper, you can’t just focus on singing, reading and playing with your child,” said Dr. Smith, who researched childbirth needs and maternal mental health.
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