尿布影响婴儿行走发育

It's a given that most babies wear diapers, in western cultures anyway. But diapers may trap more than waste—they may also confine a baby's ability to walk.

众所周知，大多数婴儿都会戴尿布，反正在西方文化里是这样。但是尿布可不仅仅只是锁住废水——它们还有可能限制婴儿的行走能力。

Scientists compared the walking gaits of 60 babies who were either naked, wore a thin disposable diaper or a thick cloth diaper. Half the babies were 13-month-old novice walkers and the other half 19-month-old experienced walkers.

科学家们比较了60个婴儿走路的行走步态，这些婴儿要么不戴尿布，要么戴上了薄的尿不湿，要么戴上了厚的棉尿布。其中一半的婴儿只有13个月大，刚学着走路，另一半婴儿19个月大，已经会走路了。

When the 30 13-month-olds walked naked only 10 fell, but while wearing the cloth diaper 21 of them fell, and while wearing the disposable 17 of them fell. Among the 19-month-olds only four fell while naked or wearing disposables, while eight fell when wearing cloth diapers. But both age groups took wider and shorter steps while wearing diapers as opposed to walking naked. The research is in the journal Developmental Science.

不戴尿布时，30个13个月大的婴儿中只有10个摔倒，但当他们戴上棉尿布时，有21人摔倒。在19个月大的婴儿中，不戴尿布或者戴上尿不湿时只有4人摔倒，但当戴上棉尿布时有8人摔倒。然而与不戴尿布截然相反的是，这两个年龄段的婴儿在戴上尿布时步子会迈得更宽更短一些。这项研究将发表在《发育科学》期刊上。

Because the effects were immediate, this study cannot predict if wearing diapers has a long-term impact. Nonetheless, the researchers believe walking naked would speed up walking development. But then we are left with the issue of covering the entire house in plastic and relying heavily on the child's ability to communicate his or her elimination intentions.

因为它的影响立竿见影，所以这项研究不能预测戴尿布会不会产生长期的影响。尽管如此，研究人员认为不戴尿布会加速儿童行走的发育。不过另一方面，我们会面临在房子里铺满塑料，过分依赖于孩子们传达意图的能力。