A diaper shortage is affecting about 33 percent of American households, according to a report done in 2020 by the National Diaper Bank Network.
Researchers say the COVID-19 pandemic's influence on the global supply chain likely played a factor in the rise of "diaper need" families. The National Diaper Bank Network defines "diaper need" as not having a sufficient amount of diapers to keep an infant properly clean and healthy.
The diaper shortage has also caused some companies to raise their prices, making it more difficult for some families financially.
The Diaper Bank of North Carolina says they are low on supplies because groups are holding fewer diaper drives.
"Families are literally making choices between buying food and buying diapers and every single time they will choose to feed their children and try to make those diapers last as long as they can," said Executive Director Michelle Old. "So we're seeing babies left in one diaper a day, families rinsing out and reusing diapers and parents making really tough decisions about basic needs that they shouldn't have to make."
CNN contributed.