Is It Safe To Have A Tattoo During Pregnancy? - BabyCentre UK

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Is it safe to have a tattoo during pregnancy?Reviewed by The BabyCentre UK Editorial Team Joanne Lewsley

Written by Joanne LewsleyIt’s best not to have a tattoo while you're pregnant. It’s very unlikely that you’ll find a tattooist who will be willing to give you a tattoo, anyway. Here are the reasons why it may not be safe:

Sometimes, people having a tattoo faint or pass out. Most tattooists won’t be prepared to take the risk of a pregnant woman fainting.
Tattoo needles are sharp and can cause a shock, more so during pregnancy as your skin can be sensitive. Unusually stressful events during pregnancy may result in premature labour. We don’t know whether having a tattoo would cause this level of stress, but it's best to play it safe.
The tattoo ink may be partly absorbed into your body. We don’t know enough about the effects the ink may have on an unborn baby.

Advertisement | page continues below During pregnancy, the way you feel about your body and body image may be altered. Something you want to have done during pregnancy may be something you regret after your baby is born. Also, your skin stretches during pregnancy and you may put on weight. So the appearance of the tattoo may change after your baby’s born and you’ve lost your pregnancy weight. It therefore seems sensible to wait until after your baby is born to have a tattoo. But bear in mind that if you’re breastfeeding, you may want to wait until your baby is fully weaned. This is because of the risk of infection. The risk of contracting an infection is small, but if it does happen, you could pass the infection to your baby through your breastmilk. If you are determined to have a tattoo during pregnancy, choose a practitioner who wears gloves, uses sterile disposable needles, and whose equipment is clean and sterilised. If unclean equipment is used, there’s a possibility you could catch a serious infection, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV. Discover whether it's safe to straighten or dye your hair, or use hair bleaching products while you're pregnant.Advertisement | page continues belowWas this article helpful?

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Sources

BabyCentre's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organisations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

This article was written using the following sources: Kluger N. 2010. Body art and pregnancy. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 153: 3–7. Kluger N. 2012. Letters to the Editor - Can a mother get a tattoo during pregnancy or while breastfeeding? European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 161:232-235. Lawrence RM and Lawrence RA. 2004. Breast milk and infection. Clinics in Perinatology 31(3):501-28 NHS. 2011a. Hepatitis B. NHS Choices - Health A-Z. www.nhs.ukOpens a new window [Accessed May 2013] NHS. 2011b. Hepatitis C. NHS Choices - Health A-Z. www.nhs.ukOpens a new window [Accessed May 2013] Wadhwa PD, Entringer S, Buss C, et al. 2011.TheOpens a new window contribution of maternal stress to preterm birth: issues and considerations. Clin Perinatol. 38(3):351-84. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govOpens a new window [Accessed May 2013] Joanne Lewsley

Joanne LewsleyJoanne Lewsley is a freelance copywriter and editor, and specialises in creating evidence-based parenting, health and lifestyle web content. Opens a new window Opens a new window Opens a new windowMy pregnancy week by week2weeks pregnant Fertilisation illustration