Are there any medical advantages of having ear pierced for babies?

Question

I want to weigh the Pros and Cons of Ear Piercing for babies, before getting one for my baby. Any pointes to the advantages, apart from fashion, would be of great help!

Answer 1

Funny how you have no problem having someone disfigure your child. Doesn't the kid deserve the right to decide if someone will punch holes in their head.

Coach

Answer 2

That's horrible. Someone asked a question in newborn and baby about if they could get their 6 month baby's ears pierced. I truly don't understand it?! Why would you put your baby through that pain? It doesn't 'look good' it has no medical purpose - it really should be illegal up to a sensible age. If a child can choose to do it then by all means with parental consent then why not, but a baby?! I had my ears pierced for my 9th birthday - I asked and my Mum paid a premium to go to a more expensive place (definately NOT claires!) to make sure that the person doing it was qualified and the equipment clean. I have no other piercings, and don't want any more - I don't really like them, except ears. I can't imagine wanting to do that to my little one. He's a boy so it's very unlikely anyway, but I wouldn't do it to a little girl either - it's just so wrong!

Answer 3

I used to pierce ears (babies and adults) and while there are no medical advantages, it is alot easier to get them done while the child is a baby. If you really want them pierced, and you wait until the child is older, they are more likely to play with/handle the earrings which can result in infection and tearing. Getting them pierced younger also gets the child used to the earrings early on and you can make sure you are cleaning the ears properly without their germy little hands touching them constantly. Older babies are harder to pierce because they don't like to hold their heads still for very long periods of time, which usually causes crooked piercings. Not to mention the fact it's also alot harder to convince a toddler into the piercing chair, no matter how much they insist they want them done beforehand.

Answer 4

there are numerous possibilities to answer this question
a lot of people say when a baby has their ears pierced at or just after birth is the best because the baby will not recognise that these things are something that they can play with and possibly infect...although you must also consider that when the piercing happens you must close off your heart for a few moments because the child will scream bloody murder for a few minutes

give your child a small dose of baby tylenol before and after the piercing to keep down the pain and the inflammation then the baby will forget what happened and "life goes on"

Answer 5

Personally, I waited until my daughter was 4 months old - after her second tetnus shot to be on the safe side of infections.

The only medical thing you may want to consider is if you do it before the baby can reach her ears, it will have healed and she may not notice they are there. As she gets older though, the fresh piercing will itch at first while it heals and she may pull on it and rip her ears. I would either do it while she's younger or wait until she's 2 or 3 or older if she passed that stage already.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Advantages, no. There may be a slightly lower risk of keloid scars following the piercing vs. having it done as an adult, IF your baby is genetically prone to them, but that's about it. On the other hand there are several risks, including infection, torn earlobe, choking (should baby discover earring, pull it off, and put it in its mouth), and the chance that the baby may be allergic to the metal. I've linked you to a couple of articles that talk about ear piercing of babies, noting some of the rationale for doing so as well as the risks involved.

Answer 7

There are no medical advantages to having your babies ears pierced..However, I had my daughters ears pierced at her pediatricians office, but she would not do it until she was three months old.She did cry, for a min or two.I would rather have them done while she was a baby than to wait until she was older and may fool around with them and possibly get an infection.

Answer 8

there are no actual medical advantages...but I can tell you the following:

1. You are always gonna get all kind of answers on this questions. Americans are so uptight on this subject...downhere (southamerica) girls get their ears pierced bf they leave the hospital...I guess it's just a cultural issue.

2. Baby's have no knowledge about pain so when they are little it won't hurt..they don't even know what a needle is...

3. You always have to put gold earrings on her...to avoid an infection.

4. I never heard of a girl being angry at her parents for piercing her ears...why wouldn't she like it? She's gonna do it anyway by the time she's 13...and there are much probabilities she gets an infection then than when she's a baby.

5. Go for it......no dr in the world would tell you it is bad for a baby girl.

Good luck

Answer 9

No advantages, and many people are hesitant to do it because of the fear of injury to the ear lobe if the baby herself, or another small child tugs on the earring, or it catches on clothing. Also, you are making a choice for someone, who later in life, may have chosen NOT to get her own ears pierced. Not all holes close up once earrings are removed- so if a person had their ears pierced as an infant, and 13 yrs down the road, said Hey Mom, I hate this, and took the earrings out- they could retain holes in their earlobes.

Answer 10

my first I didn't peirce her ears until she was almost 3 years old and she did awesome, I didn't want them done but my husband did, so i gave her the choice and for 3 days I tryed to talk her out of it, I told her it would hurt but only for a minute, but she was determined to have "pretty pretty ears like mom mom", so I gave in and got them done, she did awesome, she didn't even flinch and when it was done she showed everyone she seen for the next month. With my second I got them done at about 6 months old, and it was awful, she screamed for 20 minutes afterwards, I felt awful. so If i have another girl I would definantly wait until they were a little older so I could explain what was going to happen and give her the choice.

Answer 11

I can think of more disadvantages than advantages!!
-the pain the baby experiences when somethine is piercing their skin
-the tugging at their ears and almost ripping them out because they know something is there
-the possibility of their little ears getting infected!
I really want to get my daughter's ears pierced but my husband and I decided to wait until she could make that call herself and it gives her reason to want her ears pierced first and not her tongue,belly button,etc....