I Have Heard That You Can’t Get A Tattoo While Pregnant?

The problem with tattoos is that even though they change needles for each new customer, they don’t open new ink for each person, and so you are getting ink that has been exposed to other people’s body fluids. (This might differ state by state, and an astute tattooist would have figured out to pour the ink into little dishes and toss the excess, rather than dipping into a bigger pot.) However, having a pregnancy may very well affect your tattoo! Depending on the location of your tattoo, it is possible that its shape will stretch during pregnancy. Because your body is changing so dramatically, it is possible that your tattoo will not return to its original shape even after delivery. This tends to be the most common with tattoos on the abdomen, although tattoos on the lower back or the thighs can experience the same types of things. Even a tattoo on the ankle might stretch out of shape if your feet do a lot of swelling during your pregnancy! ( Happened to a friend of mine, she got a frog…he soon looked like a green blob after the baby was born! lol) Another possible negative effect of getting tattooed while pregnant is the risk of stress. Any stressful event, or any event that your body sees as stressful, can lead to premature labor. While getting a tattoo isn’t necessarily one of the most stressful events, it can certainly add to the stress that a pregnant woman is already feeling, and increase her stress to unsafe levels. The risk of fainting is also a concern if you want to get tattooed while pregnant. It is not uncommon for people who are getting a tattoo to pass out. Certainly any experience that puts you at risk for falling, such as fainting does, should be avoided during pregnancy.