What does a tattooed or pierced woman need to think about when they get pregnant?
Tayla Johnston is a heavily modded mum; she’s got ink, stretched lobes, multiple piercings, and various decorative scars… not surprising really, since both she and her partner work in the modification business. We got chatting about a couple of the misunderstandings about body mods, mothers and mums-to-be.

PAIN RELIEF GRIEF

Tayla had been told by a nurse that she couldn’t have an epidural because her lower back is tattooed. An epidural is an anaesthetic sometimes used during labour. Drugs are given via a catheter, inserted using a needle into the base of the spine.

Some doctors speculate that tattoo ink could get into a woman’s central nervous system, where it could cause damage. There hasn’t been much medical research on this topic, but this fear has been largely discounted as an urban myth; ink doesn’t just float about in a liquid state under the skin, ready to gush through a needle hole. An epidural would only be able to transfer a microscopic amount of pigment into the spine and, even then, modern inks are designed to be harmless to the body.

Sadly, some doctors still believe the epidural myth, so if you have lower back tatts it’s worth talking through your plans for pain relief with your anaesthetist before you go into labour. You don’t want to be refused treatment when your baby’s on the way out! Also, remember that an epidural can leave a tiny scar which might spoil the look of your tatt.

TIPPLE FROM THE NIPPLE

Tayla was also told that she couldn’t breast-feed due to her pierced nipples. But pro-breast-feeding organisation La Leche League draws attention to studies that indicate this is untrue. Unless you’ve scarred unusually badly, your milk ducts will function normally. It recommends removing jewellery during nursing and replacing it as soon as your baby’s finished drinking – but some mums will find the holes close up quickly, so should let their nipples heal and have them re-pierced when the child is weaned.

Some practitioners even say it’s fine to let your baby suckle while your jewellery is still in place – but you have to make sure the screw-on ends are really tightly fixed to minimise the risk of anything coming loose and potentially choking your little one.

If there’s any sign of nipple infection, check with a doctor before breast-feeding.

BELLY’S GONNA GET YA

Tayla removed her navel piercing as her stomach expanded; she’d had it done just before falling pregnant and it never healed well. Many women find bellybutton piercings get too tight, and they have to be removed if you have a caesarean.

It was standard practice that Tayla was asked to remove any genital piercings to avoid tearing or scratching the baby during birth. You can also expect docs to ask you to remove your tongue piercing to reduce the risk of choking if you need to have a general anaesthetic in an emergency.

Tayla is a wonderful mother and stunning woman, but she’s received some odd mod advice from docs, and suspects some may have been prejudiced against her alt.looks. That said, one nurse said how much she liked Tayla’s ears, and another was a client with a ‘Monroe’ upper lip piercing… which you could say Tayla did on doctor’s orders!

Lane’s editor-in- chief of Tattoo And Piercing magazine and co-owner of Dragon FX body mod studio in Alberta, Canada. He’s also a great photographer.