An American bride has been criticised for dragging her newborn baby on the train of her wedding dress as she walked down the aisle.

Shona Carter-Brooks of Tennessee defended herself against backlash online, saying that she could do what she wants.

Photos of the incident show Carter-Brooks’ one-month-old daughter lying on the edge of her mother’s dress as she apparently walked down the aisle.

In a response on Facebook, Carter-Brooks said her daughter was”awake and well-secured on my train”.

“The answer is we do what we want when we want … long as Jesus on our side everything worked out fine and gone (sic) continue to be fine,” Carter-Brooks wrote on Facebook.

In a Ninemsn report, the woman’s sister said that the baby was only placed on the dress’ train for a photo opportunity, and was picked up immediately afterwards.