Does wearing cloth-backed diapers reduce the possibility of male infertility?

[selv14]

The debate on whether wearing plastic-backed diapers reduces male fertility hasn't been brought up in a while. There was a previous thread on this topic here that discussed this issue some years back.

But as you guys know, cloth-backed diapers are much more prevalent nowadays(at least outside of USA). So, would wearing cloth-backed reduce the chances of male infertility, given that they trap less heat in the crotch area? And is the problem is exacerbated for those living in the tropics?

A quick thing to note here is that most cloth-backed diapers have a thin plastic sheet in them. /*Leaking commonly occurs when a diaper is heavily saturated, and the liquid flows around this plastic sheet and out through the sides.*/

So what do you guys think? Does wearing cloth-backed diapers reduce the chances of male infertility?

A quick run-down on what the original argument is about, for those who don't want to scan the original thread:

Spoiler

Plastic-backed diapers trap significant amounts of heat in the crotch area. Some studies have linked increased scrotal temperatures to higher rates of infertility. But some disagree, and others yet say that more studies need to be done before drawing any conclusions.

 

[Akastus]

I doubt that the thickness of the plastic has any significant direct impact, given that whether it's cloth or PE, it's still pretty damn thin by any absolute standard. The breathability (for which, read leakiness) of cloth does offer the possibility of a certain degree of evaporative cooling, but whether that is statistically significant by comparison, I have no idea.

 

[Eclectic]

I am subfertile and wife and I have been dealing with not being able to conceive for many years. Unfortunately, it is a problem on both mine and her side. I wear diapers every day and brought this topic up to several urologists. They dismissed it out of hand. The studies that claim wearing plastic diapers as babies reduces infertility as an adult are not very convincing and fraught with confounded variables. And by the way, the kinds of diapers you bring up are also plastic diapers, they just have a "cloth-like" backing on them.

Her are some things I do know from my own experience and semen analysis tests. I often work outside in the hot Florida sun. A couple years back when I went through a bunch of tests, my best semen counts were from August when I'm wearing plastic-backed disposables in the hot summer sun. My worst were in the winter when I was trying acupuncture as a way to increase my fertility and wearing cloth (that's right real cotton) diapers with PUL pants.

So, while on paper, it sounds like plastic diapers could have an effect, my experience and professional inquiries have led me to believe that if there is one, it's not enough to cause infertility issues. At least not the kind that would prevent you from having children.

 

[Tetra]

If your little swimmers are going to get heatstroke I really believe your diaper style has little to do with it, chefs have the highest death rate of little swimmers that I know of.