Hey Mums, do you wear your baby as a fashion statement?

Mums in the US are up in arms about a recent Motrin ad, the J&J brand of Ibuprofen in the US.

The ad implies that wearing your baby in a sling hurts your back, buy hey, you do it because it is fashionable and "supposedly" good for your child.

Twitter Moms especially did not like this one bit. And in my opinion you shouldn't piss off a group of about 14,000 mothers that are active in microblogging. 

After viewing the ad, I highly doubt that anyone who has a child was involved in creating it. And it seems that no one thought it was important enough to test on the target market.

I know a few moms that work at J&J here, and I can just imagine their reaction (it was corporate!)

J&J has pulled the ad off their web site, but of course the print version is harder to stop.

Here's the full text of the ad:

"Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion. I mean, in theory it’s a great idea. There’s the front baby carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch. And who knows what else they’ve come up with. Wear your baby on your side, your front, go hands free. Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience. They say that babies carried close to the body tend to cry less than others. But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those who don’t. I sure do! These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your back? I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because it’s a good kind of pain; it’s for my kid. Plus, it totally makes me look like an official mom. And so if I look tired and crazy, people will understand why."

Take a look and let me know, do you wear your baby in a sling as a fashion statement?

Photo credit: Rosa Pomar

This post was written by Susanna, a London Mums Blog founding contributor. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Comments

[TooManyHats]

Certainly backfired on the Motrin people. Had to be some young ad exec with no children. Hopefully they will think twice before offending mommys.

[Lori@The Charming Lamb]

Yikes! I kept hearing about the Motrin ad, but never knew any of the specific details.

Carrying my kiddo like that would have caused me back pain, but I would HARDLY call this type of bonding a "fashion statement".

A single male must have written it!

[Almost American]

Hmm - I used a sling till my kids weighed at least 25 pounds and it never hurt my back! Definitely not a fashion statement - it was just practical.

[Jessica NBP]

Would have been a baby wearing momma if only my back would've withstood it. I'm glad they are a bit more grownup so I don't have to carry them as often.

[Tess]

I wore my "little one" (20 lbs at 4 months!) every day for a year. The only time I experienced back pain was when I was using a poorly constructed carrier. After switching to a wrap instead of a cheap structured carrier I never had back pain. My baby was very happy being worn and was most certainly not a fashion statement, although she is very cute.