“But What About When You Have Children?”

“But what about when you have children?” Is the question every young woman rolls her eyes at when showing her mother her new tattoo.

Mine, is on my hip and after the ravages of pregnancy and childbirth, I still can’t decide whether I should have it touched up or removed. So it remains, a stretched out, stretch-marked, ode to love and youth.

Other young women, may have other problems with their tattoos when it comes time to deliver a baby if the inked spot is on their lower backs. According to an article in The Toronto Star, a growing number of anethesologists are wary about giving epidurals to women with lower back tats. The risks associated with piercing a needle through a tattoo are rather murky at present, but it seems more and more doctors adopting a “no needles through tattoos” rule.

• “It can be traced, at least in part, to a three-page report by two British Columbia anesthesiologists, Dr. Joanne Douglas and Dr. Jean Swenerton, published in 2002 in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia,” says Star reporter David Rider.
• Looking at past studies, they noted that epidural needles can “core” — push tiny bits of skin into places they doesn’t belong — and coring from other procedures has been linked to later tumour development. They concluded that, while there are no reports of tattoo-piercing epidurals causing complications, there is a “possible” risk of long-term problems including arachnoiditis, a debilitating chronic-pain condition.

Childbirth education experts are urging women in their classes to have consults with anesthesologists if an epidural is part of their birth plans. Otherwise, an unplanned drug-free birth could be baby’s birthday surprise.