Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

** Summary ** The new Mama Bear Plush falls a bit short of the excellent Mama Bear Gentle Touch (“GT”). Despite Amazon’s claims, I found the Plush wasn’t any softer than the GT. The real difference is that the Plush has a much wider cut in the crotch area, while the GT uses a longer and trimmer absorbent core. The other major difference is the Plush contains phthalates*, while the GT is phthalate-free. (*Don't mix up Phthalates and Parabens - Parabens are generally not used in diapers, but manufacturers like to advertise it anyway) A brief word on Phthalates - There is solid scientific evidence (published in respected peer-reviewed journals) that these chemicals can cause severe developmental disabilities, particularly in utero and for young children, and that they are absorbed through the skin. However, there isn’t any good data on whether the amount that would leach out of a diaper and into an infant would be concerning. The engineer in me says that it’s probably infinitesimally little, but my parenting instinct says why take the risk? ** A Detailed Look ** Plush = Mama Bear Plush Protection (this product, new as of late 2021) GT = Mama Bear Gentle Touch (Amazon’s other baby diaper offering) The Plush is manufactured by Domtar, which is the same company that produces Wal-Mart’s Parent’s Choice diaper. In fact, the Plush is nearly identical to the Parent’s Choice, the only discernible difference is that the Plush absorbent core has a slight narrowing in the crotch that makes the diaper fit between the legs better. This is consistent with the test results, where the Plush achieved slightly lower absorption across all tests. The GT is made by First Quality, who sells the same** diaper under the Cuties brand. The GT, like the Plush, is assembled in the USA. ** Fit ** The absorbent core of the GT is longer and slimmer than the Plush. Whether this is good or bad likely depends on the shape of your baby. In my opinion, the GT fits our baby better, but both diapers perform very well. ** Absorbency ** I tested the absorbency of several popular brands of diapers, as can be seen in the attached chart. The test involves fully saturating the absorbent core of each diaper for 30 minutes in a saline solution (0.9% (w/v) NaCl) to simulate urine. There are three measurements; the initial weight after dripping for 10 seconds, the weight after dripping for 10 minutes, and a final measurement after spinning in a centrifuge (~250g) for 5 minutes. Different mixtures of Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) and cellulose fluff, as well as other factors, will determine how well each diaper does in the different measurements. In general, more fluff will increase the former measurements, while more SAP will increase the latter measurements. To oversimplify, fluff will rapidly absorb urine (ideally before it escapes the diaper) but can not retain it under pressure. SAP will absorb more slowly than fluff, but once absorbed it’s locked in. The fluff and SAP work together to rapidly retain, then lock away urine so it can’t be pressed out as the baby moves around. In reality, there’s much more to this, but this is already getting pretty absurd for an Amazon.com review. ** Product appears to be identical, aside from print and insignificant cosmetic differences. It is possible a manufacturer will swap out components with higher/lower quality versions (e.g. Amazon may have paid a premium to have FQ use non-woven fibers that have been sent to a 3rd party lab to verify that they do not contain Phthalates).