Question about belly rings & being pregnant....

[bensgirl1222]

Anyone who has had one, did you take it out when you got pregnant? If so, when? I'm 17 weeks tomorrow and still have mine in but people are making commenst about how I should take it out bc it will stretch etc... I just dont see how it could stretch?

[jimmysgirl424]

Don't listen to what people are telling you. I had the same thing and my OB basically told me if it bugs me, take it out, if it isn't, leave it alone. I am 19 weeks and mine hasn't bothered me. At this point, I have no plans to take it out till I give birth. I did purchase a maternity belly ring that is flexible plastic in case the one I have starts bugging me. I can give you the link to that if you want.

ETA: MarriedAGoalie is late into her third trimester and still has hers in. Looks fine to me and she hasn't said anything about it stretching.

[em1126]

I took mine out at about 19 weeks. I was ready for it to come out permanently anyway, but my doctor said it had to come out for my U/S.

[jimmysgirl424]

I took mine out at about 19 weeks. I was ready for it to come out permanently anyway, but my doctor said it had to come out for my U/S.

That is so odd...I've had two U/S so far at two different places and neither tech (or my doctor) told me to take it out. :confused: I guess it falls under the heading that all doctors do things differently, huh?

[kiki61872]

i took mine out before i was pregnant.

i'm glad i did i think it would have been uncomfortable.

however- now that it has been out for so long, the hole closed. not that i want to expose my stomach now- but just soemthing to think about.

i would say if its not bothering you and you like it, keep it in.

[Ilovemygeek]

I took mine out when my belly button popped and it became uncomfortable. As for stretching, the hole is going to stretch whether the ring is in there or not. My piercing hole was very stretched out by the end of my pregnancy, but went back to normal quickly after giving birth. I put my belly ring back in as soon as I got home from the hospital and it looks the same as it did prepregnancy.

I also was never asked to take it out for ultrasounds.

[MichelleRenee]

I had mine pierced and I took it out right before I got pregnant just because I was sick of it.

I have seen people whose belly buttons don't stretch too much and their piercings do just fine. (I even have a friend who was an "innie" through her whole pregnancy!) However, my sister's belly ring "ripped" through the skin towards the end of her pregnancy. Her belly just pushed it out so far it pushed right through the skin.

I'd say leave it in as long as you are comfortable and if you have to take it out you should be able to put it back in afterwards.

[Smittenk]

I took mine out at about 16 weeks because it started to indent in my belly I didn't like that. I was also basically done with it...I have had it for almost 10 years so I am kind of over it. That being said the hole hasn't closed so if it is still open after the baby arrives I may put it back in.

My midwife did suggest this site if you do find your bellyring is falling back into your belly http://www.pregnancypiercings.com/

[flygirl]

I plan on leaving mine in unless I get uncomfortable, and I'll probably put it back in afterward. I think whether or not the hole closes is due in part to the length of time the ring was in. If it's important to have it after the baby is born, you can always get it re-pierced.

[KeliAnn]

I took mine out around 8w or so, but mostly because I was tired of it. I won't put mine back in even if the hole doesn't close up.

FTR, my SIL didn't take hers out while she was pregnant, and although it looked fine during her pregnancy, it doesn't look so hot now. :|

[HGMorgann]

I kept mine in up until I had to have a c-section (unplanned). I put it back in as soon as I got to my room, while waiting for them to bring DD to me. (Took them forever...argh)


It didn't bother me at all though. I did get stretch marks, so I doubt anyone will see my ring anymore;-) The actual ring part and the hole look the same as pre-pg now.

[roberta]

I had planned on leaving mine in, but honestly got really uncomfortable and too tight to turn. I took out at about 6 months. At 4 months PP, the hole does not look the same. It has little stretch marks between the 2 holes not to mention the lovely stretch marks on my hips and sides. It is still open, but I don't think I am going to bother putting it back in. I did not have to take it out for any US but they would have definitely cut it off for my emergency c-section.

[mel7dog]

I took mine out when I found out I was pregnant. For me it was something fun when I was younger and in my crazy days, but not something I wanted to have in as a mom. My belly got HUGE and at almost 10m PP the hole deosn't look quite the same. Personally, it creeps me out when someone is way pregnant and has a belly ring in. Sort of ruins that natural beauty of a baby belly for me.

[L&D Nurse]

Ditto to what mel7dog said:)

[dpangel33]

I kept mine in up until about 30 wks when my belly really started to pop. It never got uncomfortable but was poking out and could be seen through clothes so it looked funny. In the last 10 weeks I've gotten stretch marks in between the holes and can tell the holes have stretched themselves. Depending on what my belly looks like after delivery I may or may not put it back in.

[whitlockan]

I took mine out around 30 weeks as well. I had a hoop in and for some reason it caused it to pull up and away from my belly button now I have this lip then my belly button, its not ugly, but all in all it was time to go, something reserved for when I was younger. Also I had sono's every 4 weeks and got tired of taking it out. The tech/doctor made me take it out for everyone because it can intefere with the way the waves bounce back etc. Not to mention I had the poking out as well and everyone always asked wow has your belly button popped, um no thats my ring.....hahaha!!
I will most likely not put it back in after I deliever.

[CarlaB]

I never took mine out. My midwife kept asking me to, but I was of the opinion that if it did not bother me, then there was no reason to move it. I kept telling her that I would remove it before I went into labor. I took a gamble that she would not be the one that delivered DS, but of course, she was there! We just laughed about it and moved on. I love that you can see it's imprint in my belly cast. I loved my pregnant belly and my belly ring was a part of that.

[MarriedaGoalie]

I have my belly button pierced and my doctor had told me it would be okay to leave in during my pregnancy. Well, I am scheduled for an induction on Tuesday and so far everything has been okay. However, yesterday, I saw a different doctor (since my doctor is on vacation) and she suggested I take it out because she has seen them rip during the pushing part of labor. So now I'm curious... who has left theirs in and who took theirs out? And if you left yours in, did it rip while you were pushing? I'm concerned to take mine out because I am afraid it will close up, but I don't want it to rip either...

[jessesgirl]

FWIW, my sister was required by her doctor to take hers out. As always, I'm sure it would differ from doctor to doctor on reason. I don't know for sure why she had to but I can only guess it was for infection-prevention and tearing reasons.

The hole did close up on her but at that time, she wasn't concerned because she didn't want it anymore.

[KK812]

I've never had a baby, but my husband does anesthesia and I'm pretty sure you're required to take it out before being admitted in case of a c-section.

[whitlockan]

I took mine out and then just tried to put in about oh say a month later and it still is fine but I will say it is super thin (I can see the steel color perfectly through the skin) and no way I'd try to leave it in, I see mine ripping. If you feel you should take it out, every couple of weeks you can run it through to keep it "open" but if you've had it a while it shouldnt close up for a long time.

[blondegirl]

With DD, I kept it in until the day I went in for my induction. I was told to take off all jewelry when I was admitted, and I took my belly ring out at that time.

With DS, I took it out about 30 wks or so, put it in once a week or so, just to keep the hole open.

I wouldn't leave it in during delivery, just to be safe, but I wouldn't worry about the hole closing in just a fews.

[clammyinsf]

i'm planning on taking mine off (i'm 12w along) just bc i'm done w/ it. i have a curved barbell and *gulp* it's not coming off! i've tried twisting both balls and they don't budge. do you think i need to go to a piercing parlor or have a doctor remove it?

[MarriedaGoalie]

Update: I left mine in my entire pregnancy and they finally took it out while I was on the operating room table (I had a c-section). They put it right back in afterwards, though. After having my little guy, I noticed I have a couple of small scars from where the my stomach stretched around the belly button ring. Just an FYI... don't be suprised if you have scars!

[jimmysgirl424]

Just wanted to post that I am 27 weeks along and still have mine in...no problems yet. Although..if one person asks me when I'm taking it out, I'm going to want to hit them. Uhhh..when my doctor tells me to, how's that? :p

clammyinsf Yes, I would go to a piercing parlor and let them take care of it for you. Don't worry, its probably just stuck a little bit.

[em1126]

i'm planning on taking mine off (i'm 12w along) just bc i'm done w/ it. i have a curved barbell and *gulp* it's not coming off! i've tried twisting both balls and they don't budge. do you think i need to go to a piercing parlor or have a doctor remove it?

Clammy I had mine taken out at the doctor's office at about 17 weeks. Like you, I was just done with it! I had a ring with a ball in the center and mine wasn't budging either. Being pregnant, I personally didn't feel comfortable going to a piercing parlor and I'm glad I didn't. It actually ended up taking 2 people to get it out b/c they had to wiggle it around a lot to finally get it to come out. I'm not sure I could have done it myself even if I could have gotten the ball unscrewed. And I felt good about being reasonably certain all their equipment was sterile, etc.

[jimmysgirl424]

Clammy I had mine taken out at the doctor's office at about 17 weeks. Like you, I was just done with it! I had a ring with a ball in the center and mine wasn't budging either. Being pregnant, I personally didn't feel comfortable going to a piercing parlor and I'm glad I didn't. It actually ended up taking 2 people to get it out b/c they had to wiggle it around a lot to finally get it to come out. I'm not sure I could have done it myself even if I could have gotten the ball unscrewed. And I felt good about being reasonably certain all their equipment was sterile, etc.

Not to challenge you or anything, but any reputable parlor is going to use only sterile equipment and keep their work stations sterile as well. The one I go to is almost anal in their determination to keep the environment as clean and as sterile as possible..they go through disinfectant like crazy and have several sterilizers that run constantly, plus they use disposable everything!! If I walk into any place like that and it looks dirty or I don't see evidence that they keep things sterile, I turn around and walk back out. Now..that being said, I think going to a doctor's office to have the ring removed is just as good, particularly if you aren't confident or secure in going to a piercing place.

[Scooter]

I took mine out at around 17 weeks. It was rubbing on all my shirts as my belly grew and it just really bothered me. I put in a flexible plastic one curved barbell and left that in until about 34 weeks. By then it was just stretching the skin too much, and stretched skin gets itchy and irritating. I figured what's 6 weeks?

7.5wks later when I got home from giving birth, I tried to put it back in--the hole had already started closing up. And I guess I'd been under some delusions that post-baby my stomach might return to looking normal. I'd had the piercing for 12 years and wasn't ready to part with it...that is, until I was snapped into the reality of postpartum. ;) The top hole has some scarring around it from stretching, but that is nothing compared to all the rest of the changes pregnancy caused, so I'm fine with it.