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When a baby is born, it is a very busy time for parents filled with firsts. It marks the first time moms and dads hold their child, look into their eyes and kiss their baby, but for one mom it also marked the first time her baby got her ears pierced.
She shared video of her now-four-month-old daughter Lara on TikTok and in it, showed what her child looked like as a baby to illustrate how much the girl has changed. However, the footage of baby Lara showed the girl just a couple days old, still in the hospital, with a shiny, silver flower earring in her ear.
According to The Mirror, the mother, who is from Colombia, explained that doctors at the hospital pierced Lara's ears, noting that when babies "are two-three days old, they don't feel pain like a year or two." She also stated that Lara "didn't even react" to the piercing because the earlobes on babies are "softer" than those on older children and adults.
Plenty of commenters felt otherwise. One person asked, "So do they pierce the ears before they cut the cord?" while another said, "Bro was still in the damn hospital bed but had earrings on💀." Someone else expressed a health concern saying, "I'd be so afraid she pulled them off and choked on them." Others called the piercing "body modification without consent." Many people also defended the mom, writing things like, "It's a tradition. In Romania, they pierce the kids' ear in the hospital," and, "Same as Indonesia... Every baby girl got [their] ear pierced at the hospital."
As for how safe it is, that is a little questionable. WebMD says that if you pierced the ears of a child under three months old and they wound up with an infection and a fever, they'd have to be admitted to the hospital. The site suggests not having your child's ears pierced until they have been given a tetanus vaccine.
The controversy hasn't stopped people from following Lara on TikTok. Even though she is just four months old, she already has over 800 thousand followers. You can see her here.