Expert: Mary Gordon - 7/25/2010

Question
Thanks very much Mary for the quick response. Sorry to keep coming back..just wanted one quick clarification. how often should one change diapers for my mom at night, since we dont' use them during the day.  My brother and I, take turns to look after her at night have for the last one year have not used diapers, have have been waking up her and taking her to the bathroom. We have absolutely no experience with children and we know practically next to nothing about diapers except that we want to avoid all the skin infections that come with them.  As of now, she wets her bed EVERY HOUR at night. should we change each time that happends? if that's the case, then isn't it better to wake her up once in an hour to take her to the bathroom-since she is bound to wake up in any case -when we change her?  thanks for the links with the range of produces.. none of which are available in india.. but i guess we can buy them online or get someone who is travelling to buy them for us. Thanks very much an you can't imagine how much you've helped by answering all our questions-nimi

Answer
If you use disposable diapers that are designed for night wear, you do not have to change her during the night - you can likely let her go 5 or 6 hours at least.  If you put her in traditional cotton diapers (usually double layered for night) with plastic pants, you will have to change her at least every three hours.

It is not a good idea to get her up every hour. If you research healthy sleep cycles, you will find that for physical, mental and emotional health, people need uninterrupted sleep - everyone goes through defined patterns that cycle throughout the night and are at least two hours at a time. If these are interrupted it can seriously affect their ability to function and cause health problems. It is particularly important for a person with dementia to get proper sleep if at all possible - the dementia itself causes brain damage disrupts their sleep. You want to do everything you can to encourage her to sleep longer stretches.  

If there are local medical supply stores, you might want to find out what is available where you live. I would also talk to some local mothers about how often they change their babies at night. Your mother's skin is very delicate, but so is the skin of a baby, and if the mothers are able to let their baby sleep for a longer stretch at night, you can too.

Hope this helps.

Mary