In most non-industrialised cultures where natural parenting, i.e.: co-sleeping, babywearing, and extended breastfeeding, is the norm, Natural Infant Hygeine (NIH) is also commonly practiced. NIH is a means of responding to your baby's urine and bowel movement needs, similar to the way a mother would respond to her baby's other needs, such as hunger. Also known as Elimination Communication (EC) or Infant Potty Training, it is the baby-friendly, environmental and natural way to tend to a baby's toileting needs with minimal use of nappies or diapers.

All babies are born knowing when they need to pee and poo. A baby can communicate to their caregiver their need to go, different babies may use body language, certain noises, looks, pointing and eventually sign language and verbalization as they get older. Sometimes the baby's signals may not be as clear in which case the caregiver can use timing, elimination patterns, body language, intuition or a combination of these. For instance, babies usually pee soon after waking up, and predictably around feeding times. Many mothers who practice NIH often say they just "know" when their baby needs to go. Once the caregiver recognises that the baby needs to pee or poo, they can then place the baby over a suitable receptacle and prompt or cue the baby to pass urine or pass motion, usually by making a "sss" or "hmmph" sound to simulate running water or pushing. With this method, parents often have their babies in underpants or training pants, and only use nappies or 'all-in-ones' for outings.

Babies who are placed in nappies have to train themselves to pee or poo into their own close clothing and then have to learn to ignore their excrement being in such close contact. When it then comes time for conventional toilet training, typically at 2-3 years, they have to re-learn these skills that they were trained to abandon.

Millions of mothers from all over the world have used NIH with their babies throughout time, knowing that nappies were unnecessary. Now NIH is enjoying a resurgence as in the Western world as parents re-discover this method, in a similar way that breastfeeding rates are increasing after generations of formula feeding.

Benefits of NIH for the baby include being cleaner, dryer and more comfortable, and avoiding nappy or heat rash. The baby does not feel a fundamental and large part of his or her needs are being ignored, has better body awareness, and avoids the conventional toilet training later. The family benefits by saving money on disposables or time in washing nappies, having a happier, more bonded baby. And of course the environment benefits by not having thousands of disposables used or washing tons of cloth with all the water, detergent and energy required.

Most importantly, the baby is respected and nurtured through the Fourth Trimester . Imagine how an adult might feel if they were incapable of going to the toilet on their own and their caretaker left them sitting in their own waste for hours at a time. NIH is a gentle, loving way of parenting a baby, and there is no place for coercion, rewards or punishment in this method. It is not early conventional toilet training, nor is it about training parents or infants in a certain behavior. Instead, it utilises the existing natural behavior a baby has of making its needs known.

You may have more questions such as: what is the best age to try NIH, is my baby already too old, can it be done part-time if I'm working, is it a lot of work, can I do NIH with with twins or a baby with special needs?

There are books available about NIH, websites devoted to the subject, and several online support groups.

Diaper Free Baby, an international non-profit organisation, helps families around the world discover and enjoy the emotional, developmental, environmental, and health benefits of practicing Natural Infant Hygeine, through local support groups, internet resources, community outreach, and other educational initiatives. If you are interested in more information, support and details of meetings, please contact us.

To browse items that may help in your NIH journey, click here to link to the NIH online store at www.mummysmilk.com

For more information, read:

•  "Diaper Free" by Ingrid Bauer
•  "Infant Potty Training" by Laurie Bourke

or visit one of the many websites that talks about NIH such as: