New parents used to be told to rub alcohol on the cord stump
at each diaper changing. Recently, that advice has gone out of
favor. 
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Apply ointment, if necessary. You can
apply a barrier ointment at each
changing, but if your baby hasn't had
diaper rash, then you may not need it.
Fasten the diaper, making sure that it
isn't too tight.
And what about that dreaded diaper
rash? It isn't a given that all babies will
have it. "Obvious precautionary steps
include changing diapers frequently to
minimize the contact between moisture
and skin," says Mancini. And using
barrier creams or ointments - zinc oxide - or petroleum-based products -
helps to accomplish this as well. Diaper
dermatitis (rash) is caused by prolonged
contact with urine and feces.
If your baby does get a diaper rash,
watch it closely. "If there are signs of
an infection, such as pustules, whiteheads,
drainage, crusting, or intense
redness, then secondary yeast or bacterial
infection may be present," says
Mancini. If the rash persists, a pediatrician
should evaluate it.
Cloth vs. disposable
The decision about which kind of diaper
to use is a very personal one. At
one time, there were news stories
about cloth being the more environmentally
sound option. But now it
looks like washing cloth diapers has as
much environmental impact as disposing
of throwaways. According to the
nonprofit Institute for Lifecycle Environmental
Assessment, the decision
comes down to your community's situation -
in a drought, use disposables;
if there are landfill problems, use cloth.
That's the larger environmental
impact. On a more personal level, cloth
is definitely more natural, while disposables
are more convenient. However,
when it comes down to your baby's
comfort, Mancini says, "Cloth diapers
are not as good as disposables in terms
of diaper dermatitis prevention. Disposable
diapers contain absorbent
gelling material, which is extremely
effective in wicking moisture away
from the skin. The incidence of severe
diaper dermatitis seems to have fallen
significantly since the advent of disposable
diaper technology."
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