GUIDE

Double diapering with a catheter

Double diapering is what most hospitals teach parents when a child goes home with a urinary catheter, often after hypospadias surgery. It uses two ordinary diapers to do a job neither was designed for. This guide explains how it is taught, what to watch for, and why it is a workaround rather than a solution.

What double diapering is

A urinary catheter is a thin tube that drains urine from the bladder. After some surgeries, a child goes home with the catheter in place for days or weeks. A standard diaper has no place for the tube, so caregivers are taught to layer two diapers: an inner diaper to catch stool and an outer diaper to collect urine from the catheter.

How hospitals teach it

Instructions vary by hospital. Two large children's hospitals publish two different methods.

Method one: route the tube over the inner diaper

Published by Children's Minnesota.

Put the inner diaper on in the child's usual size.
Gently guide the catheter out over the leg or top edge of the inner diaper.
Put the outer diaper on, one size larger, with the catheter inside it so urine drains downhill.
Check the tube for kinks or twists.

This method tells parents not to cut a hole in the inner diaper, because the absorbent beads inside can spill out, get wet, and clog the catheter.

Method two: cut a hole

Published by Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Take a clean diaper and cut a hole near where the penis would sit.
Wrap the cut edges with medical paper tape.
Pass the penis and catheter through the hole.
Put a second diaper over the first to catch urine from the catheter.
Change the inner diaper whenever the child has a bowel movement, and wipe any stool off the catheter.

Changing and watching

These are the published ranges. Your care team's instructions come first.

Outer diaper: about every three to four hours, or sooner if wet.
Inner diaper: whenever wet or soiled, and at least three times a day.
If the outer diaper stays dry, check the tube for kinks or twists first. If the tube looks fine and no urine is draining, call the clinic.
Never pull on the catheter. If it comes out, call the surgeon.

Why it is a workaround

Both methods are honest about their limits.

Stool still reaches the tube. One method tells parents to wipe stool off the catheter. Bacteria from stool can travel along a catheter toward the bladder, which is the route behind many catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Cutting the diaper releases absorbent material that can clog the tube, which is why the other method forbids it.
Tape on a cut edge sits against healing skin.
The tube can be tugged every time the inner diaper is changed.
Two diapers per change doubles cost and bulk, and the outer diaper is a size up, so it fits loosely.

A diaper designed for the job

DiviDiaper's CathEase™ is designed to replace double diapering with one product. A built-in port is designed to hold the tube steady, and a sealed front compartment is designed to keep the catheter apart from stool. It includes the Divider™, which is designed to keep urine and stool in separate zones. CathEase™ is covered by a U.S. patent and is in development. It is not FDA cleared and not available for sale.

See how the Waste Isolation Platform™ works

Questions parents ask

Q: Why do hospitals recommend two diapers instead of one?

A: A standard diaper has no opening or compartment for a catheter. Two diapers let one catch stool while the other collects urine from the tube. It is a workaround with ordinary products, not a purpose-built design.

Q: Should I cut a hole in the diaper for the catheter?

A: Hospitals disagree. Some teach cutting a hole and taping the edges. Others say not to cut, because the absorbent beads can spill and clog the catheter. Follow the instructions your own care team gave you.

Q: How do I keep stool away from the catheter?

A: Change the inner diaper as soon as there is a bowel movement, wipe the tube as your care team showed you, and keep it free of kinks. Stool near the tube is the reason this workaround is being redesigned.

Q: Is there a diaper made for catheters?

A: DiviDiaper's CathEase™ is designed for this and is in development. It is not yet available.

Written by the DiviDiaper team. We double diapered our own son through his hypospadias surgeries, which is why DiviDiaper exists. Read our story.

SOURCES

Last updated October 23, 2026.