A new spa is raising some eyebrows in Southern New Hampshire.
The Diaper Spa website lists it as the “only physician-owned Diaper Spa in the world” and says it is open to “all diaper-wearing individuals who seek acceptance, respite, and care”.
The space is decorated to look like a baby’s nursery, complete wtih small beds, toys, and folded diapers.
Services include ABDL (Adult Baby/Diaper Lover) nursery spa care, therapeutic support and life coaching, and a 24-hour stay called the Diaper B&B. All clients are required to wear adult diapers.
Colleen Ann Murphy, the owner of the spa, said the spa and its services are non-sexual and do not cater to any fetish, but instead are catered to individuals looking to regress and heal.
“It helps them process whatever trauma it was,” Murphy said. “A lot of times it’s childhood trauma when they were in diapers or just getting out of diapers and they want to feel that safety that they had before that.”
Not all area residents are in favor of the spa. A change.org petition was started over the weekend to voice objections to its presence in the community.
“As residents and patrons of this community, we feel compelled to voice our collective concern and dissatisfaction regarding potential incidents that pose a threat to the safety and well-being of our community members, particularly our children,” the petition, written by Kayla Gallagher, reads. “We strongly ask a firm and continued rejection for this business to operate in our community. ”
7News spoke with some neighbors who oppose the spa.
“You can do what you want in your home, but a business? It’s not right for the community,” said Susan Mitcheson.
Mike Vigliotta said he also was against the spa being in town.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of kids that live around here, and what type of people are going to do that?” he said. “People who are looking at children or being children by wearing diapers and being treated like a baby. That kind of concerns me. Who knows what that leads too.”
Helen DiFrancesco took a more “Live Free or Die” attitude towards the business.
“Just wouldn’t bother me,” she said. “If I didn’t need it, it still wouldn’t bother me.”
Murphy said she understands that some people might find this unusual type of treatment strange.
“I don’t ask them to understand,” she said. “You know it would be nice if they did but we’re not all going to understand other people’s needs and lifestyle.”
Company policies listed on the Diaper Spa website note that all clients are subject to screening, including a check of the National Sex Offender Database, and that “absolutely no” sexual interaction is allowed.
Murphy told 7News she is licensed in New York and Maine, but believes she doesn’t need a license for the therapy she offers in New Hampshire.
No final application for a business license has yet been submitted, which would go before the Zoning Board at a future public meeting.
Murphy’s hope from this?
“That people learn to be more accepting of people that are different,” she said.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)