By Mary Farrow
Cincinnati, Ohio, Jun 16, 2019 / 13:01 pm
Pro-life groups are cheering an initiative from Pampers which is seeking to place 5,000 diaper changing tables in men's restrooms throughout the United States and Canada.
"Picture this...dad is out and about, enjoying quality time with his baby and the inevitable hits – diaper duty. Cue the search for a changing table, only for dad to find there's nowhere for him to change that stinky booty in the men's restroom," the Pampers company, a popular brand of baby and toddler products, said in an announcement of the initiative.
"It's an all too familiar story that's happening across the country, with new Pampers research revealing that 9 out of 10 dads have gone into a public restroom that has not had a baby changing table," Pampers added. "As part of its 'Love the Change' campaign, Pampers is proud to announce they're providing 5,000 changing tables for public restrooms across North America by 2021, so more dads and babies can #LoveTheChange together when they're out-and-about."
The initiative was inspired largely by the #SquatforChange campaign, which started after frustrated Florida father Donte Palmer posted a photo of himself, squatting on the floor of a public restroom and balancing his child on his knees while trying to change the child's diaper.
The photo, which Palmer posted to Facebook and Instagram, went viral, and Palmer told the Washington Post he was encouraged by the response, which indicated that it was a widespread issue for dads across the country.
Kristi Hamrick, a spokesperson for the pro-life group Students for Life of America, applauded the Pampers initiative, and told CNA that it points out an age-old "discrepancy" that assumes mothers are always the ones changing their children's diapers.
"Students for Life has always been an advocate for helping both mothers and fathers take care of their children," she said. "In fact, we've been pointing out the discrepancy for years, because moms can use a break, and I know from experience that my husband was just as good as I was at helping our children on diaper duty."
"A pro-life/pro-family society puts policies and infrastructure in place to help young families succeed in raising happy, healthy children. We may pursue different programming ideas, but helping families should be a goal for all of us as we all need the next generation to do well," she added.
Hamrick noted that the initiative is similar to other efforts of Students for Life groups throughout the country, including the 2018 installment of diaper decks at the University of Wyoming, after the encouragement of the local Students for Life group, as well as efforts to support paid family leave acts in Congress.
Carol Tobias, a spokesperson for the pro-life group National Right to Life, told CNA that she welcomed the Pampers initiative, and that she imagined most mothers did too.
"Fathers seem to be more involved in the care of their children than previous generations so it makes sense that diaper-changing stations are available to help them provide that care," she said.
According to Pampers, the installation of the diaper decks will take place over the next two years, in partnership with Koala Kare.
The companies "will identify high-need public locations and provide baby changing tables for installation in the men's restrooms. Dads and babies visiting places such as parks and recreation centers, community centers and libraries in cities such as Cincinnati, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, and many others across the U.S. and Canada, are in line to benefit from Pampers' commitment," Pampers announced.
Pampers noted that the first 500 locations for the installation of diaper decks have already been selected, and will be installed in the coming weeks.
