A TikTok mom received the ire of many parents after she uploaded a video of her daughter as a newborn baby with ear piercing. The new mother did not expect her post to elicit such an angry response.
Lara, the TikTok mom's username, meant to share the video to compare her daughter's growth as a newborn and a 3-month-old. However, her followers could not help but notice that the baby had flower earrings. Many commenters said they would wait until the child was old enough to decide if they would get their ears pierced since there could be risks, which will be a permanent choice.
The TikTok mom came under fire when she commented that her baby did not react "when the doctors gave her the holes." She said babies do not feel any pain in their ear lobes two or three days after the birth because it's very soft.
Some of the parents said that she was naive to think this way because ear-piercing feels the same regardless of age, which could sting a little.
It's Common in Other Cultures
However, some of the TikTok mom's followers said that ear piercing in newborn babies in some cultures is not a shock. The mother is based in Colombia, and ear piercing after birth is done in their hospitals. One young mother defended Lara and said she went through the same thing as a newborn and didn't die or have a bad reaction.
In 2019, actress Hilary Duff received the same type of backlash when she shared a photo of her daughter, then eight months old, with her new earrings. Fans castigated the actress for child abuse.
Two years later, Duff's second daughter also had an ear piercing at seven months old, and the celebrity mom also uploaded the photo. She wrote in the captions about netizens likely calling her a child abuser for a second time.
Pediatrician Dr. Anastasia Gentles said via Fox News that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not have a recommended age for ear piercing. If the parents can look after the baby for adverse reactions, there shouldn't be an issue. If it's a cultural belief, then it should not be a problem as well.
Risks of Ear Piercing in Newborns
Some experts, however, recommend delaying ear piercing in newborn babies because they could be at risk for infection or develop fever and get hospitalized. Ideally, parents need to wait until the baby has gotten her tetanus vaccine as a proactive approach, per WebMD.
Though there have been no documented cases of a baby who died from ear piercing, one 11-year-old girl in the U.K. was reported to have developed an infection that poisoned her blood. Doctors believed there was no sterilization before the girl underwent the process, as she was among friends when they got their ears pierced together.
The experts said that parents should ensure that the person doing the ear piercing is qualified and has clean tools. They also need to get their kids hypoallergenic earrings and keep this on for at least six weeks before changing to another piece.
Parents must also watch for signs of infection 24 hours after the procedure, such as redness, swelling, pain, or pus. If their child is still young, they should also be looking for frequent touching. Older children can control themselves more and not fiddle with their ears.
