Can You Get A Tattoo When Pregnant?

Risks Associated with Getting Tattooed While Pregnant – There are some known risks of getting a tattoo , and some of those risks can cause major complications in pregnant women. You should be aware of these risks before deciding to get a tattoo while pregnant.

Infection;
One of the main risks of being tattooed is the chance of an infection;
If your tattoo artist uses contaminated or dirty needles, you could be at risk of getting bloodborne infections, such as hepatitis B;

A mother with hepatitis B can easily pass on the infection to her baby at birth. Babies with hepatitis B have a 90% chance of developing a lifelong infection, and one in four of them will die of health complications from the infection if it is left untreated.

Other bloodborne infections, like hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), can also be contracted from unsterile tattoo needles. There is a 6% chance of a mother with hepatitis C passing on the infection to her child.

Without treatment, the chance of a mother with HIV passing on the infection to her child can range from 15% to 45%. Toxic tattoo inks. Even though the average tattoo needle is only poked ⅛ of an inch into the skin, some tattoo ink contains heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, and lead.

These ingredients can pose a threat to your developing baby, particularly in the first trimester when the main organs are developing. Exposure to heavy metals can affect your baby’s brain development. It can also increase your chances of having a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Skin changes during pregnancy. When you are pregnant, your body is constantly growing and changing to accommodate the baby inside. Depending on where you get a tattoo, your ink might not look the same after you’ve given birth and your body has healed. Your skin can change in other ways as well.

Melasma , or temporary darkening of the skin, and increased skin sensitivity is common in pregnancy and can affect how your tattoo looks or how you react to being tattooed;
Inability to receive epidurals;

You’ve probably heard the rumor that women with a lower back tattoo can’t get an epidural, but there is little evidence to support this claim. Complications of getting an epidural with a lower back tattoo are rare. In some cases, a lower back tattoo may cause problems.

If your tattoo appears to have red, scaly skin or is infected, leaking fluid, or still healing, your doctor would likely not give you an epidural. Calm any anxiety you might have on this topic by talking to your doctor.

They’re the best person to guide you through this process.

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Contents

1 Is it safe to get a new tattoo during pregnancy?

Is it safe to get a new tattoo during pregnancy?

Is it safe to get a tattoo during pregnancy? – There is not much research on the safety of getting a new tattoo during pregnancy. The little bit of research that exists on tattoo ink suggests that some of it may be metabolized or work its way through your lymph nodes.

Some research also suggests that certain products in tattoo ink might be able to be transferred through the placenta. In rare instances, there have been cases of ink being tainted with bacteria or allergens, since tattoo ink dyes are not well regulated because they are considered a cosmetic product by the FDA.

And then there’s the risk of infection any time you get stuck with a needle — in this case, the big concern would be hepatitis B or C or HIV from a dirty needle. Most tattoo parlors are scrupulous about cleanliness when it comes to their tools and methods, as required by state and local authorities.

Can I get an epidural If I have a tattoo?

Can I get an epidural if I have a tattoo on my back? – Pregnant women who are planning to get an epidural during labor may worry they can’t get one because they have a tattoo on their back where the needle will need be injected. But Roanne Preston, the division head of obstetric anesthesia and the department head of anesthesiology, pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of British Columbia, says you can get an epidural if you have a tattoo on your back. What you need to know before getting an epidural “Ideally, we find a clear space to place the needle,” he says. “If a clear space is not available, then we make a small incision in the skin in order to minimize the likelihood of displacing small amounts of skin with tattoo ink further into the tissues of the back, and most importantly into the epidural space, via the epidural needle.

” If you have gotten a tattoo in the past six months, your anesthesiologist might be a bit more concerned about giving you an epidural. This is because in the first six months after getting a tattoo, the ink isn’t fixed and could become displaced by the epidural needle, explains Preston, who is also the interim department head of anesthesia at British Columbia’s Women’s Hospital.

“The theoretical concern is that the ink could then cause a tissue reaction, which could lead to growth of tissue around the area—like scar formation,” he says. He says if there is not a clear space to give you an epidural, some anesthesiologists may choose not to give you one or may opt to give you the small incision option instead.

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Are non-sterile needles safe for tattoos?

You’ve been planning to get some new ink, but now you’re expecting a baby. Is it safe to get a tattoo? It’s something you’ve been wanting to get for a while and you’ve finally built up the courage to do it. But now you’re pregnant, and you don’t know if it’s safe to get a tattoo or if you should hold off.

It’s best to wait to get your tattoo , says Jimmy Belotte, an attending physician in the division of general OB/GYN at Montefiore Health System and an associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.

Belotte says one of the main concerns is the risk of you (and potentially your baby) developing an infectious disease like Hepatitis B or C, or even HIV. These viral infections can be transmitted when tainted blood enters the bloodstream of an otherwise healthy person.

This can happen if non-sterile needles are used for tattooing. While studies have shown there’s a very low risk of developing these diseases if you get a tattoo at a licensed facility, there is still a chance.

And Belotte says the chances of passing an infectious disease you get during pregnancy on to your baby are generally low, but they do vary for every person. You need to take into consideration the prevalence of the specific infection in that community, the individual’s vaccination records and the tattoo parlor’s quality-control measures, he explains.

He also recommends you look at the tattoo shop’s violations or citations from the health department. According to the American Pregnancy Association, it is possible that chemicals in the tattoo dye may also affect a baby’s development during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

And because there are so few studies done on getting tattoos during pregnancy, researchers don’t really know what the effects are during any trimester. This is why many doctors advise against getting a tattoo while pregnant and even while breastfeeding.

Betty Greenman , an international board-certified lactation consultant explains that while the ink molecules are too large to get into a mother’s breastmilk, she still doesn’t recommend moms get fresh ink while nursing;

“There is no evidence that tattoos have any adverse effect on breastfeeding,” she says. “However, what is concerning to me is the infections that can happen if you don’t use a licensed tattoo parlor. I feel moms should wait until they have weaned their baby off breastfeeding.

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Can you get viral infections from tattoos?

Is it okay to get a tattoo while pregnant?

This can happen if non-sterile needles are used for tattooing;
While studies have shown there’s a very low risk of developing these diseases if you get a tattoo at a licensed facility, there is still a chance;

He also recommends you look at the tattoo shop’s violations or citations from the health department;
According to the American Pregnancy Association, it is possible that chemicals in the tattoo dye may also affect a baby’s development during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy;

Betty Greenman , an international board-certified lactation consultant explains that while the ink molecules are too large to get into a mother’s breastmilk, she still doesn’t recommend moms get fresh ink while nursing;

Julia