Although most people wouldn’t dare call a newborn anything but adorable, a new TikTok challenge is poking fun at “ugly” babies. But not everyone is a fan of this new viral trend.
The trend has parents posting photos from pregnancy, explaining that they wondered what their baby would look like, The Sun reports. The videos then flash to an image (or two) of the baby as a newborn, with a less-than-cute, often wrinkly look. Some parents make comparisons to pop culture figures, like Benjamin Button or Gordon Ramsey.
Additionally, many parents who join the challenge conclude their TikTok with an image of their baby in the present, often with the caption, “Newborn vs. now,” to show how their little ones have only become adorable with time.
While most TikTok users have received the light-hearted videos in stride, there have been critics. Some comments emphasize that all babies are beautiful, and roasting your babies for views is damaging. But for the most part, the TikToks aren’t to insinuate the babies lack of cuteness. Rather, it’s used to challenge the notion that the newborn stage, in general, is the cutest time for babies.
Refinery29 points out that it’s normal for most adults to find newborn babies unattractive, or “ugly,” as the TikTok challenge suggests. According to an original report by The New Zealand Herald, a 2018 Canadian Study performed by researchers at Brock University found that the features most people associate with being cute in babies – like large eyes, chubby cheeks, and cooing sounds – don’t develop until six months of age.
The researchers suspect this helps foster a nurturing instinct in adults, thereby better ensuring the child’s survival. However, it contradicts their original assumption, which was that babies would be cuter the younger they are. Unfortunately, the researchers noted that parental abandonment was most common in the first few weeks of life.
Refinery29 goes on to explain that many babies are born with conditions that make them “less cute.” As Parenting notes, these conditions can include:
- Vernix: a “thick, cheesy material” that helps protect the infant from water damage in utero; it comes off during baby’s first bath.
- Cyanosis: when the baby’s hands, feet, or lips become blue-ish; the reason for this condition is slowed blood circulation.
- Cephalhematoma: a “benign, moving mass” on the side of the baby’s head that’s caused by pressure during birth.
- Caput Succedaneum: when the baby has a cone-shape head, usually caused by a complicated birth
Please note that these conditions are temporary and usually resolve themselves, but we encourage you to speak to your doctor for more specific information.
Sources: The Sun, New Zealand Herald, Refinery29, Parenting,