Can Someone Explain Baby Ear Piercings to Me?

Congratulations! It's a girl! She's perfect and sweet, and totally needs her ears pierced! Wait, what? I was scrolling through my Facebook and saw that friends of mine just had their baby's ears pierced. It's not the first time I've seen this, of course, but it got me thinking. Is there are reason (other than decoration) for ears to be pierced so young?

It seems to me that it's just more one thing that can go wrong with your baby. They already are prone to sickness, are fragile, teething, and have a host of other issues. In my mind, I was thinking the issues of ear piercing (pain, infection, changing the earrings...) are needless additions to a baby's already issue-proned existence.

On the other hand, maybe there is cultural significance to the ritual that I'm unaware of. YES, I could Google it, but I wanted to hear from people who have done it. So, what's the deal? Why do people get their baby's ears pierced? And are you for it, or against it? Take the poll, let me know what's up!