hey all..

[meekly.livejournal.com]

I'm a long time reader and commenter... But I've never posted but something I just saw sparked a question over here.. The tattoo of the uterus and vagina got me to thinking... I plan to have children in the future and I'm considering getting a tattoo on my stomach.. kinda to the side and low (think right part of the tummy) and I heard that it could cause problems with my uterus and possibly making it impossible to have children. I don't know if its a myth sparked by ignorant people but I was wondering if any body has anything to add or erase from that...

Ohh. and to the mothers who read this and have tattoos on their stomachs, how did the stretch marks and tattoo work out for you??

Comments

[viellen]

Myth, myth, myth! (for the love of God how do these things get started?!) The ink from a tattoo permeates the third layer of skin--that's it! It does not affect the uterus, and there's no chance of becoming infertile from a tattoo. As for the stretching during pregnancy, well, yea, it's not going to look too pretty. You're tattoo will most likely be stretched out and will possibly be crooked after pregnancy. Most tattoo artists would suggest waiting until after childbirth to have ink done. Good luck with it!

[gluedupsidedown.livejournal.com]

(for the love of God how do these things get started?!)

DITTO!

[viellen]

eww, for the sake of good grammer, that should have read "Your tattoo"
:::slaps head with hand::: I really need to proofread before I hit post!

[ex-leopardp.livejournal.com]

There are still people who believe that if you have a tattoo on your back that you can't get an epidural! Which is ANOTHER pile of horsecrap. Same with mammograms. It doesn't block anything. It doesn't bleed into other areas...it doesn't destroy organs.

[viellen]

Wow, I hadn't heard that one before. I mean it really is ridiculous to make up these completely unscientific claims. I can understand if one doesn't want to get a tattoo due to religious implications (since we really can't prove whether or not there is validity to that)...but to just decide that tattoo's poison internal organs? Geez, get an education.

[oh-justwait.livejournal.com]

i so heard that! cause i have a fairly large tattoo on top of my spine on my lower back, and someone was like "OH GOD I HOPE YOU DONT GET PREGGERS CAUSE YOU CANT HAVE AN EPIDURAL".
i figured it was horseshit, but i'm glad to know for sure that it is now.

[just-tonight.livejournal.com]

a large part of my lower back is tattooed, had an epidural with no problems. :)

[ex-leopardp.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. They're full of it. It doesn't do a goddamned thing but react just like regular skin.

[meekly.livejournal.com]

Wow.. I've never heard that one before but I'm not surprised that somebody would make that up.

[potionsmistress.livejournal.com]

My favorite is that you can't get an MRI when you've had ink done because OMG it will BURN YOUR SKIN. Um, yeah...I've got several tats and not one of them gave me any problems during either MRI.
I hate body mod related urban legends - they just ruin it for the rest of us.

[s0yl3ntgr33n.livejournal.com]

they tested that one on Mythbusters and i guess there could have been a slight reason why the myth existed (tattoo ink used to contain trace amounts of iron or something) but it was definitely busted. they tried all types of ink.

[ainadal.livejournal.com]

ha, my DOCTOR tried to tell me that when she saw my tattoo. i mean, shouldn't a doctor know better?!

[jenbys.livejournal.com]

See I thought that was true, because when I had surgery last year my surgeon actually told me that....sigh, this is why people remain ignorant- because people in a position of power perpetuate stupidity.

[puttysan.livejournal.com]

My little sister had the kanji for love done in red and black on her abdomen. Six months post partum, it is a red and black blob that looks like shit.

No, it won't affect your ability to have children, but it will get stretched to hell as your belly grows, and likely won't look the same.

[ex-leopardp.livejournal.com]

Ok. Tattoo artist here.

Tattoos will not,and I repeat, NOT cause any problems with your internal organs.

However if you stretched badly during a pregnancy, that beautiful design will look like shit.

[mandaryn.livejournal.com]

If that's where you want to get it, I'd say go with soemthign small. I chose a small (I can cover it up with a nickel) heart with wings. That way, if it gets stretched out beyond belief, a heart will still look like a heart, even if it is a bit asymetrical and the wings shoudldn't look too bad either. =)

[potionsmistress.livejournal.com]

Dunno if it's the same for every woman, but my cousin had a tattoo of the Little Mermaid near her belly button...and after 2 pregnancies (a single and twins) Ariel looks more like Ursula the Sea Witch. o.O

[moochar.livejournal.com]

I waited until AFTER my daughter to do a tattoo around that area. My best friend got her first tattoo when she was a senior in high school, & actually decided on it's location based on where wouldn't get streched when she had a baby later on. Sounds silly, but it's actually the best idea. I've seen lots of tattoos & I can honestly say that I've never seen one thats looks good on the stomach after pregnancy. There may be some out there, but I've not seen them. I have a friend who had a dolphin around her belly button, after she had her son she joked it turned into a whale while she was pregnant, then a blob when she gave birth.

[whoa-breathe.livejournal.com]

A good tattoo artist will be able to tell you what part of your abdomen is a "risk area" for streching during pregnancy. I went with a friend when she got her tattoo designed and the tattoo artist pointed out areas that were prone to streching and thus messing up the design. She picked a spot that wouldn't be high risk since she is planning on having children in the future.

[benthicblue.livejournal.com]

As everyone else said, that's totally false. As for tattoos stretching, there's no real rule of thumb on that. It's all going to depend on the elasticity of your skin, where exactly it is, how exactly you carry a pregnancy, etc. In other words, there's no sure fire place to put one on your stomach where it won't get distorted by pregnancy.

[burningashes.livejournal.com]

I was going to get my tattoo along my hipline, off to the side below my belly button. But then after MUCH thought, I was too paranoid of when I have a child the tat getting stretch marks or looking hideous while I'm carrying.. so I ended up getting it on my side lower back/butt area.