Can You get a Tattoo While Pregnant? 

Our existence may have been incredibly different than what we have been used to over the past year and a half. However, life does go on. Or in the words of Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park – if there’s one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it’s that life will not be contained: “Life, uh… finds way”. As such, babies have kept being born, and more are on the way.

When you are used to getting your tattoo fix on once every few months, the thought of going without a new piece of ink for nearly a year may seem daunting. Or perhaps you had finally managed to book in with that elusive artist who only opens up their books once per year, or the traveling artist doing a guest spot at your local studio before knowing you had a baby coming, and now you are wondering if you should give it up. The prudent and short answer is – unfortunately, yes. While it is extremely rare, there are complications that could arise from getting a tattoo that could be detrimental to the health of you and your baby.

Even an infinitesimal risk could be considered too high

There is no explicit warning against getting inked while pregnant (as opposed to drinking alcohol or eating raw meat or shellfish). However, given the fact that getting a tattoo means perforating the skin, this means an increased risk of blood borne diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis C. These could then potentially be transferred to the foetus, or to your infant while breastfeeding.

And even if the risk of contracting anything is infinitesimal when working with a reputable studio, repeatedly getting jabbed by a needle will cause your body to have a stress response. During pregnancy, it is best to avoid any stressful situations overall. Furthermore, the healing process will tax your body’s immune response, at a time all forces are best marshalled towards building a new human being. Most artist will not tattoo pregnant women, just to be on the safe side. 

Tattoos altering appearance with pregnancy

From a purely aesthetic viewpoint, getting a tattoo while pregnant would also take specific considerations. It goes without saying that getting a tattoo on the stretched skin on your abdomen would mean that once the baby is out and the belly recedes, your tattoo would change shape and size. The same goes for other parts of the body that may increase in circumference during pregnancy.

In fact, it could be best to wait to get tattooed on your abdomen after you have had your last child, or when you have decided not to have kids of your own, as the physiological changes could alter the appearance of the tattoo. However, we have it on good authority that if you look after your skin diligently to reduce stretch marks, your designs may not suffer too badly. 

All in all, you could get tattooed while pregnant, but would you really want to take even the tiniest of risks and put your body through unnecessary stress, rather than wait a few months? Also, should you ever want to become pregnant in the future, it could be a good idea to plan your tattoos for body parts that will not significantly be altered by those nine months of making a human, just to be on the safer side in terms of their longevity.