The Ethics of Posting Babies’ Faces on Social Media: What Parents and Professionals Need to Know
In the age of constant connection, many parents feel pressure—or even excitement—to share glimpses of their baby’s life online. Those who work with families, such as lactation consultants, pediatric providers, doulas, and birth workers, may also seek to share stories or images to celebrate successes or help educate the community.
But sharing images of infants—especially their faces—raises serious ethical, legal, and safety considerations. Even when a parent provides consent, the question isn’t simply “Can I?” but “Should I?”
Below, we explore the layers of responsibility, with attention to HIPAA, the IBCLC Code of Ethics, and why posting children’s faces can be risky.
1. HIPAA Considerations: What Health Professionals Must Understand
For healthcare providers and anyone who delivers clinical lactation care, HIPAA is non-negotiable. Under HIPAA:
A baby’s face counts as protected health information (PHI) because the child can be personally identified from the image.
Posting such a photo without a valid, signed authorization from the parent is a violation.
Even with signed consent, organizations are expected to practice minimum necessary disclosure, which raises the question: Is posting the baby’s face truly necessary?
In other words, HIPAA may allow photo sharing with proper authorization, but ethical practice often leans toward not sharing identifiable infant images at all.
2. IBCLC Code of Ethics: Protecting Client Dignity and Privacy
The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) Code of Professional Conduct is clear on several points relevant to photo sharing:
IBCLCs must protect client confidentiality at all times.
Images used for teaching or promotion must have explicit consent and must be used in a way that does not exploit the client or child.
Professionals must avoid actions that could cause harm, whether physical, emotional, or digital.
Even with consent, IBCLCs are encouraged to ask:
Does posting this photo serve the client’s interest—or mine?
Could this create unintended long-term consequences for the child?
Would a non-identifiable photo serve the same purpose?
Ethical practice means erring on the side of the infant’s future autonomy and safety.
3. The Dangers of Sharing Children’s Faces Online—Even With Consent
Parents may freely choose to share images of their children online, but doing so comes with risks that many people do not realize, including:
Digital Privacy & Loss of Autonomy
Babies cannot consent to having their faces shared, and once posted, the images become part of the child’s digital footprint—one they had no say in creating.
Image Misuse and Digital Exploitation
Children’s photos are frequently:
Saved by strangers
Used in identity theft
Shared without permission
Used in inappropriate or exploitative ways
Even innocent family photos can be repurposed in harmful contexts.
Location Tracking and Data Harvesting
Many platforms collect metadata from uploaded images. Combined with tagging, check-ins, or predictable posting patterns, this can reveal:
A family’s home
Routines
Frequent locations
Sensitive personal details
AI-Fueled Risks
As facial recognition technology improves, posting a child’s face today may make them digitally trackable for decades. Big tech companies can train algorithms on publicly posted photos, and children cannot retract consent later.
4. Should We Post Baby Faces at All? A Values-Based Framework
Whether you’re a parent or a professional, consider:
Purpose: Is it genuinely necessary to show the child’s face?
Benefit vs. Risk: Who benefits from the post? Who carries the risk?
Alternatives: Hands, feet, silhouettes, or back-of-head images can tell a story without exposing identity.
Future Impact: How might the child feel about this image in 10, 15, or 20 years?
Long-term safety: Once posted, it can never be fully removed.
5. The Ethical Bottom Line
Sharing babies’ faces online is not simply a personal decision—it intersects with privacy law, professional ethics, and children’s rights.
Parents: You have full legal authority to consent, but thinking through long-term consequences is essential.
Professionals: Even with written consent, ethical guidelines and best practices often point toward avoiding identifiable images of babies altogether.
Protecting a child’s future autonomy is one of the most meaningful acts of care we can offer.
