My understanding is that women are supposed to very particular about how they wipe their butts after defecation, so as to avoid spreading potentially harmful bacteria toward the vulva, where they might result in a bladder infection.
Assuming this is correct, how do infant/toddler girls cope with using diapers - or for that matter, adult women who use diapers (whether for necessity or just for fun)? Are these people at significantly increased risk of bladder problems due to contamination of the vulva by fecal matter?
Actually it is a risk from wiping back to front of pushing contaminating matter into the urethra causing a bladder infection. So I’d guess there would not be an issue with diapers because the labia protects the urethra.
Yes, any female in diapers, old or young, is at increased risk of urinary tract infections. That’s why they teach you as a parent/caretaker to not let them sit around in soiled diapers and, when cleaning, wipe from the front to the back and use a clean wipe (or at least, clean area of the wipe) for each pass.
ETA: The labia won’t cover for runny or loose stools, and it only buys you time for firm ones. You have to spread the labia and clean all the folds out, too, because plenty of fecal matter gets up there.
When my daughter was born, I had to have the nurse walk me through proper diaper changing and wiping techniques for little girls (my wife tells me she didn’t need the primer, but I caught her peeking over and taking mental notes while the nurse was showing me how to do it). I had only ever changed my son, and let me tell you, boys are so much lower-maintenance in that department-- just wipe the turds off the balls, powder and you’re good. I was initially astonished and a bit weirded out by the necessary"pulling back" that had to be done with girls. When the nurse demonstrated, I began to frantically calcualte how feasible it would be for me to avoid all diaper changes on my daughter over the next two years. Not too feasible, it turns out. Four months into it, it’s become just another (somewhat unpleasant) necessity of effective parenting.