Belly piercings have become quite popular. If you have a belly piercing you may have been told by well-meaning friends that you should remove your belly ring once you become pregnant. But do you really need to? A belly piercing that has completely healed is perfectly safe to keep during pregnancy. As long as your piercing is comfortable and does not become infected there is no reason you can’t keep your belly piercing in place during your pregnancy.
Belly Piercing and Pregnancy - Do’s and Don’ts
Make sure your piercing studio followed these safety guidelines when you had your piercing.
- The piercer should wear new sterile gloves with each piercing.
- All piercing instruments should be sterilized using an autoclave.
- The piercing studio should be clean.
- The piercer should be using single use sterile needles to do your piercing.
- Any bandages and jewelry used should be sterile and unopened.
- Make sure your piercing has completely healed prior to getting pregnant. If your piercing has not completely healed, you may have problems with the hole not healing properly while you are pregnant. As your belly stretches and grows the unhealed hole may stretch and become larger.
- Watch for signs of infection. As long as your piercing has properly healed there should not be any problems with keeping your belly piercing during pregnancy. You will want to watch for signs of infection such as pus or any type of drainage, redness, warmth, or swelling.
- Keep your piercing comfortable. You may find that metal jewelry is just not comfortable when you are pregnant. Replacing your metal jewelry with a flexible plastic jewelry made of polytetrafluoroethylene may help to keep your piercing comfortable.
- Piercing may need to be removed if you need a c-section. You may be asked to remove your piercing if you have a scheduled or emergency c-section.
There are some new products on the market that are perfect for pregnant moms. If you would like to keep your belly piercing in place during your pregnancy you may want to try buying a belly ring specifically designed for pregnancy. Websites like pregnancypiercings.com sell belly rings that are longer than conventional jewelry and are made of medical grade plastic that is flexible and more comfortable during pregnancy. If you have any concerns about keeping your piercing during your pregnancy or if you are concerned that you have signs of infection talk to your doctor.