Motrin in a Sling
Posted by mom2mom on November 18, 2008
McNeil, the company that makes the Motrin line of pain relievers, recently released the following commercial:
Controversial Motrin Moms Commercial
This commercial ticked off a lot of baby-wearing moms, creating quite a buzz in the blogosphere, lots of video responses on YouTube, and enough complaints to McNeil that the company issued this statement on the Motrin website:
I’m actually one of the vocal minority that thought the furor was much ado about nothing. You’d think that McNeil was undermining the fabric of American families by suggesting baby carriers can hurt. I don’t watch hardly any TV at all because it’s like feeding your brain a steady diet of junk food, so I would have never known about this commerical except I was alerted to it in an e-mail. After seeing it I actually thought the commercial, though kind of tacky in its narrative, was funny, because I can relate to it. I tried a sling with my oldest when she was a few weeks old (she’s 5 now) and didn’t like it, and neither did she. I also found taking the baby out of a carseat, into the sling/carrier, and back in the carseat when out and about to be a hassle. So I quickly abandoned the idea. Three more kids later and I go around looking tired and crazy most all the time too. Now I will acknowledge that if you’re using a sling/carrier and feel like you need to take Motrin, you need to adjust it or get another that fits closer to you and is better supported to take the strain off and relieve the pain, but I bet there are some moms out there that can’t wear any kind of sling or carrier without pain, probably because they already have neck, back and/or shoulder issues. I would hope they wouldn’t take Motrin and wear their babies anyway just so they look or feel like a “real mom.” They shouldn’t be made to feel guilty if they have to stop.
I wonder how the Greatest Generation got along without being worn by their mommas?
Paula Spencer said,
Yes! I agree with you wholeheartedly! Lol especially the last line….
Baby slings/wraps are an OPTION not a NECESSITY. I bonded with my daughter perfectly fine without a baby carrier….and I’ll be doing the same with my son who is on the way. I can’t wear my baby because of back pain, and I felt like the Motrin ad was aimed at mothers such as myself and not mothers who have no issues whatsoever with wearing them. Thank you for your post!
mom2mom said,
Thanks for your comment. Being a good mother has NOTHING to do with whether you prefer to wear you baby or cart him or her around in a stroller, you just do what works for your situation and no need to feel guilty or get defensive. I’ve found a number of the natural, crunchy-type mommas to be very touchy and defensive about their position – also, a lot of them are loath to take any kind of medications, ESPECIALLY when preggo or BF’ing, so they wouldn’t be buying Motrin anyway, the commercial just doesn’t apply to them. However, I felt that was a commericial for “the rest of us” and it’s a shame Kathy Widmer, VP of marketing felt she had to capitulate. She was dealing with a very small, albeit very noisy, minority.
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