Pregnancy and piercings

[laurie101]

Hi,
I'm 12 weeks pregnant and have both vch (2mm) and diagonal nipple piercings. I've been reading lots of conflicting things regarding piercings and pregnancy/childbirth/nursing. I havent made a decision regarding brestfeeding yet, but i do know i cannot face the thought of having my nipples re-pierced (God, it hurt!!) I really really really dont want to take any of them out unless its absolutely necessary.Also, removing them for the duration of the pregnancy etc i dont think will be much of an option either as previous piercings of mine have been known to start re-healing within a matter of hours, even after having them for years. My partner is a piercer himself but hasn't had any experience with this type of thing. He suggested using ptfe if they get uncomfortable and the obvious, taking them out.
Does anybody else have any experience and/or advice??

[Jacobite]

Hi Laurie welcome to the tribe family
I.m sure some of the gorgous tribe girls will be along soon to answer your question more fully
From what I've read nipple piercings should not interfere with breast feeding as your nipples have over 20 milk ducts, although you may want to bear in mind jewellery choice to avoid soft tissue damage to the infants mouth
An excellent source on information can be found here, and her books a good read too
http://ringsofdesire.com/

I do know one girl who took out her piercings which she'd had for 4 years to breast feed for just over a year and was still able to get 1 out of 2 back in with a taper ~so you may well be lucky

Should you need a C section no doubt the hospital will demand you take your VCH out or swap it to a non metalic retainer, although I cant see any reason it would interfere with a natural birth

[memyselfandi is hiding! Updated 39 weeks agomemyselfandi is online]

A.The VCH:
hospitals will require it out either way for the delivery.
Emergencys can happen....and natural birth, the jewelry is just in the way, and something that they don't want to have to think about changing if an emergency were to occur and make surgery necessary.
I had mine out for a csection and it was fine. It posed no problems during the pregnancy other than that changing my own jewelry became impossible. Most likely, it'll only be out for the duration of labor/csection and...since they stretch a little on their own its highly doubtful getting it back in will pose that much of a problem.
B. Nips.
I retired mine because the swell and hormonal chaos with my nips/breasts caused one to migrate, so out it came. The other I took out shortly before delivery because I KNEW i was going to breastfeed.
NOW THE FOLLOWING VIEWS ARE VERY BIASED>
personally, breastfeeding is worth it for the benefits to your child/and just the bonding of it if you CAN do it, even if its just that first six weeks. IF this is the way you go. BE aware that you CANNOT keep jewelry in. IT's too high of a risk to the infant, and getting a good latch isn't as natural as it sounds with all infants WITHOUT jewelry in the way, much less with and then theres the what if a ball gets loose, and..the possible damage to the sensitive little mouth.
SO if you choose to keep your piercings..EVERY two to three hours while you breastfeed, you'll have to take jewelry out. Clean nipple. feed baby. burp baby (change baby) put baby down, put jewelry in, have snack, lay down, sleep an hour tops...before gettin started again. ITS a lot of in and out to do to keep piercings that are very easily REDONE. and honestly...breastfeeding toughens up the nipples a bit, and having mine REDONE. was much easier than the first go around.
NOW all that aside. just make sure you keep your jewelry comfortably fitting and you're good on that, pregnancy caused one of mine to migrate so in frustration i took it out. IT's all about what your body does and that can be a wide array of things. IF they pose a problem/irritation....
its like this. a newborn is....a wonderful marvelous little being and caring for that little person...takes the forefront of everything. piercings and their issues...become inconsequential to that, and if its an irritation...well, its something you don't need until later. being a new parent is hard enough after all!
The major deciding factor for me was when i decided to breastfeed my child, and after retiring one....it only made sense to retire the other and just do what I Thought best for her. if you don't decide to do that....hey, thats your call too I did warn I was very very biased :P
piercings tho, didn't pose a problem other than the breastfeeding thing and taking all of mine out for the delivery, my ob was great enough to put my vch jewelry back in for me after the csection!

[Melmo 4 more days <3 Updated 1 day ago]

Thankfully I dont have any genital piercings to worry about and I already removed my nipple piercings. I think what MeMyselfI said is perfect..I agree 1000%
My nipples hurt like a BITCH to get done but I would get them done again after if I wanted them back.

[Cloud]

In the scheme of things, your baby and breastfeeding are more important than your piercings.

Here's a link to the APP's FAQ page, which discusses pregnany and piercings:

http://www.safepiercing.org/piercing/faq/

[laurie101]

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies so far.
Obviously if theres a choice between the babys health and my piercings theres no contest. What I was getting at was trying to get the right level of compromise, if any could be had., i.e if there was no valid reason to take them out at all.i had considered and read previously what memyselfandi was saying about taking the piercings put each time the baby wants to feed. But as she points out, its gonna be the last thing i want to worry about and theres a risk of infection not to mention irritation/pain. My main concern was that i had been told and read in several sources that i had to take them out NOW if I had any hope of breastfeeding. I dont think this is correct though???? I'd just hate to take them out, have them heal up only to find out i couldnt breastfeed anyway.
Also, any advice on whether I'm more likely to tear during labour around the vch site from having the piercing (despite not having it in)??? would the integrity of the skin be compromised or would it be unaffected?
Thanks again for the help

[BadKiTtY]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I can't see any reason why removing the nipple piercings now or in a few months would make a difference.

[laurie101]

because of them healing up...i was told if they weren't healed i wouldnt be able to breastfeed...and i dont really want them to heal up cos im a coward about having them redone

[Cloud]

So, they are fresh piercings? How old are they?

I don't believe a healing piercing would prohibit breastfeeding--why would it? Unless they were infected.

The Piercing Bible says: "If you have a fresh or unhealed piercing, remove the jewelry once it is confirmed that you are expecting. Bolster your system to contend with your pregnancy instead of depleting it by trying to heal a piercing."

So your system can concentrate on growing the baby, but not that having an unhealed piercing would prevent you from breastfeeding.

If they are actually healed and you mean "closed up"; then leave the jewelry in.

[memyselfandi is hiding! Updated 39 weeks agomemyselfandi is online]

I'd had mine over a year and a half or better when I got pregnant, as to nips. IF memory serves I took out one of mine around two months before delivery, the other just weeks before.
NIETHER was fully healed and closed.
I breastfed without issues. ACtually, the side that was less healed, baby preferred, apparently milk flowed more easily on that side through the openings. since you have the nip piercings NOW, and have a long ways to go, I don't think WHEN you take them out will effect much of anything, EXCEPT be warned that nonclosed holes, can mean milk will come out more freely on that side, and babies DO notice that kind of thing and develop a preference.
I can say from having been there and done that...like cloud said. short of an infection, its not going to matter wether or not your nipples have closed fully up when it comes to breastfeeding. People give loads of bs advice...even the lady they sent in with my daughter when she came to be fed the first time tried to tell me that oh, you had a c-section and you've been pierced, oh, dear. you probably CAN'T breastfeed. I looked at her, told her to talk to more people and do some more reading, and had no trouble with lil bit getting what she needed. THERE is a lot of misinformation about piercings/pregnancy. I think some of this is simply because, perhaps, if you've been pierced/healed/pierced a number of times...okay, so i can see perhaps scar tissue damage interfering. It's just that, if anything, having retired/done multiple nipple piercings probably isn't ALL that common, and even then may not be to a high enough degree to really prohibit breastfeeding going well!
If you like your nip jewelry, keep it in. treat it well, and then you can deal with that choice when you either have a problem (like the migration I had while pregnant) or if you decide on breastfeeding and don't want the irritation of the in and out then you can take them out, and later have them redone. I know you say you're not fond of the pain aspect of that, but....well, your relationship with your nipples changes vastly after you have breastfed a while. And for me, the second go around was FAR easier than the original piercing (which to me, admittedly, wasn't that bad.)
As to your vch question...the only input I have is what my ob told me when we were still considering a natural birth..which was that, the piercing being where it was would have no real relation or pose any added risk to tearing, etc. She was a very very piercing friendly ob (LOVED her) and she was no nonsense about how a lot of medical professionals exaggerate about piercings and issues just because they're not comfortable with them.
So, as to the nips...I'd say you can keep them in as long as you like, and not to worry about what you read about breastfeeding and having had pierced nipples. As long as your nipples aren't fresh (and if you're 12 weeks i'm taking they can't be THAT new), and are behaving, theres no reason to take them out sooner rather than later unless they become an irritation.
Longwinded, again, sorry ya'll!