Is it possible to get a tattoo during lactation?

Oddly enough, there are no blind randomized studies on the effect of tattooing on a woman’s body during breastfeeding. Domestic doctors recommend postponing such procedures just in case. In contrast, their colleagues from countries with evidence-based medicine argue that these two processes do not have a physiological relationship between them.

Therefore, the objectively existing answer for today is that a woman decides on her own. We have collected all the pros and cons of whether it is possible to get a tattoo during lactating.

Why tattoos are dangerous when br*astfeeding:

• A lactating woman has a changed hormonal background to react to discomfort and the introduction of pigment more sharply than in a normal state. And in the process of breastfeeding, the regeneration processes in the mother may be less active. Therefore, the professional does not recommend making permanent and artistic tattooing within 9 months after the child’s birth.
• There is always a risk of infection of injured tissue with improper care. To prevent this, you need to adhere to the recommendations for leaving the professional strictly. Before that, choose a salon very carefully.
• There is always a risk of developing an allergic reaction to the pigment. To minimize this risk, use hypoallergenic inks and do skin tests.
• But the widespread myth that pigment can get into breast milk does not stand up to criticism: this is physiologically impossible since the pigment molecules are too large to enter the systemic circulation through the tissues of the dermis.

Contraindications to the procedure

If breastfeeding itself is not objectively considered a contraindication to the tattooing procedure, then it is categorically not recommended to do it in some conditions.

The professional will refuse a nursing woman:

• with diabetes mellitus in the stage of decompensation;
• exacerbations of eczema or psoriasis;
• reduced blood clotting;
• epilepsy;
• diagnosed malignant tumours;
• hepatitis, HIV;
• acute symptoms – fever, pain syndrome, general malaise, signs of a cold;
• alcoholic intoxication;
• pregnancy;
• menstruation;
• symptoms of acute stress;
• violations of the integrity of the skin in the area of driving in the pigment.

A history of allergic reactions is a relative contraindication: a woman will be offered individual skin tests for pigments.