The ‘17 Diapers’ TikTok Controversy, Explained

As many online controversies do, the “17 diapers” TikTok video started out so simply. In it, an admittedly overwhelmed mom of two named Hannah Hiatt decided to poke fun at herself after a weekend of solo parenting by counting the number of dirty diapers she had laying around her house.

Since she posted the video earlier this month, Hannah has been called disgusting, gone viral, and, more recently, turned into an icon for the overwhelming pressures of motherhood and the postpartum period. All of this, from counting diapers. That’s the internet for you!

Here’s everything you need to know about Hannah and her “17 diapers” video, in this edition of TL;DR.

Give me the TL;DR.A mom of two named Hannah Hiatt has ignited a conversation about parenting and burnout after posting a tongue-in-cheek TikTok video in which she reveals she has 17 dirty diapers lying around her house.

Wait, I need more. What’s the background here?On October 5, Hannah, who has a two-year-old and a newborn, posted a TikTok video in which she asks the viewers to guess how many dirty diapers she probably has lying around her house.

“I kid you not, my guess is probably 15,” she says.

Hannah explains that she and her husband don’t own a diaper pail, and they usually just change their kids in various places around the house. Usually, she says, they go around and collect the diapers at the end of the day but she had been solo parenting for a full day at this point.

So, she takes the camera around to collect all the diapers that have accumulated. There are four on the coffee table, some scattered on the floor in the living room, and then the rest are in her bedroom and on the landing.

“No wonder my house frickin’ stinks right now,” she says, before ending the video.

The video was only a minute and a half long, but has now been viewed more than 7 million times. And everyone, and we mean everyone, has an opinion.

What does the internet think?People’s (unsolicited) opinions on Hannah and her video fall into two main categories:

Those who are calling her disgusting and shaming her, and those who are encouraging her to pull through this moment of being overwhelmed by motherhood.

In the first camp, we have those who were horrified by the video and swore they would never let their house get in such a state.

“You do not need a diaper genie to throw away diapers and keep your house hygienic, hope this helps!” someone sarcastically commented.

Others were just confused. “I literally cannot wrap my head around this. As soon as I change the diaper I throw it away in the trash can,” one person said.

But in the other camp, people, especially moms, had a resounding message: We get it.

“I personally would love to know how all these expert and perfect mothers commenting here experienced the first four to six weeks of motherhood,” wrote one.

These supporters flooded Hannah’s comments with encouragement. “That’s 17 times your sweet babies were prioritized over your house. It’s 17 times your sweet babies were cleaned and felt comfort and loved. Being a mom is hard. You got this momma!” wrote one.

Has Hannah responded to all this?After her video went viral (and people formed a ton of opinions about Hannah, her life, her home, and her mental health), she explained a bit more of the context. In an interview with People, she said that she filmed the video to be funny and never expected any of this. She added that she was solo parenting because her husband had planned a trip, and she wasn’t upset or bitter about it.

“I didn’t think it was going to be controversial or honestly attract attention whatsoever,” she said.

The attention at first, she said, was pretty embarrassing. But she has been encouraged by the people who have supported rather than shamed her.

“Yes, there were 17 diapers around my house but they didn’t see me coloring with my son, while breastfeeding my newborn at the same time. They didn’t see me taking my son to the park, pushing him on the swing, while holding my newborn,” she told the magazine.

She’s also poking fun at herself, and her new title as the “17 diaper mom.”

So, why should I care?Here is where things got interesting. After Hannah’s video went viral, moms online began to use it as a way to discuss burnout, postpartum mental health, and the lack of support and resources for parents in the US.

On TikTok, they began to share their own “17 diapers” moments—from dealing with postpartum psychosis to balancing joy and grief, and navigating a work-life balance.

If this viral trend can teach us anything, it isn’t that we should gawk at a woman’s lack of a diaper pail. It’s that many mothers in the US have had their own “17 diapers” moment, no matter what that looks like.

The TikTok trend is a symptom of a bigger problem. The US Surgeon General just declared that parental burnout and stress is such a widespread issue that it was worthy of a public health warning, noting that two-fifths of parents say that on most days, “They are so stressed they cannot function.”

“Parents who feel pushed to the brink deserve more than platitudes. They need tangible support,” said US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in a New York Times op-ed.

So yes, plenty of moms can’t imagine leaving 17 diapers around their house. But the fact that so many moms can think of their own, similar moment is a bellwether of something bigger, both online and offline.

Am I going to care about or remember this in two weeks?Probably not the viral moment, but we hope the lessons stick.