The 17 TikTok Diaper Controversy, Explained

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

Since posting the video earlier this month, Hannah has been called disgusting, gone viral and, more recently, turned into an icon of the overwhelming pressures of motherhood and the postpartum period. All 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.

Hannah Hiatt, a mother of two, has sparked a conversation about parenting and burnout after posting a tongue-in-cheek TikTok video in which she reveals she has 17 dirty diapers in her house.

Wait, I need more. What is the background here?

On October 5, Hannah, who has a two-year-old and a newborn, posted a TikTok video asking viewers to guess how many dirty diapers she probably has in her house.

“I’m not kidding, I’m guessing probably 15,” she said.

Hannah explained that she and her husband don’t have a diaper pail, and they usually change their children in different places around the house. Normally, she said, they would stop by at the end of the day to pick up the diapers, but at that point she had already had a full day of solo parenting.

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

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

The video lasted only a minute and a half, 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 about Hannah and her video fall into two main categories:

those who call her disgusting and shame her, and those who encourage her to get through this moment of motherhood overwhelm.