Why the ‘17 Diapers’ TikTok Video Is Such a Gut Punch for Moms

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.