If you must keep jewelry in place, use a flexible PTFE barbell and tighten the ends before every breastfeeding session. Inform your healthcare team including your lactation consultant! Keep breastfeeding. If you are a mother who has or wants a nipple piercing, you should feel safe knowing that you can still successfully breastfeed if you follow the precautions outlined above.
Beautiful body art and breastfeeding are not mutually exclusive! We use cookies and similar technologies to provide the best consumer experience. Continuing to use our site means you agree to our use of cookies. See our cookie policy for more information. Store Locator 0. Can You Breastfeed with Pierced Nipples? The likelihood of scarring is higher when there are multiple piercings in a single nipple.
Another thing to keep in mind is that nipple piercings can lead to breast problems such as mastitis or a breast abscess. Mastitis is a type of inflammation that develops as a complication of a blocked milk duct. It can also occur if you have a bacterial infection in the breast, such as a staph infection Staphylococcus aureus. Symptoms include breast soreness, redness, and swelling.
The staph bacteria is normally found on the skin, so mastitis might develop if you frequently touch the piercing site with your hands. A breast abscess can form as a complication of a bacterial infection. These can cause a painful, swollen pus-filled lump. Also, if an old piercing leaves a hole in your nipple, you may have milk leakage from the piercing site.
This can generally be addressed by using breast pads to absorb the leaking milk, but this change to the flow may cause difficulties for some infants. It can take anywhere from 6 months to 12 months for a nipple piercing to fully heal. Because saliva contains bacteria, wait until the piercing fully heals before breastfeeding to reduce the risk of infection. Once a nipple piercing fully heals, make sure you take measures to breastfeed safely.
Even when nipple jewelry appears secure in your nipple, it is preferable to remove the jewelry prior to breastfeeding. Also, removing jewelry might make it easier for your baby to latch onto your breasts and prevent any possible damage to their mouth. Ideally, jewelry should be removed completely for as long as you intend to breastfeed. This decreases the chances of infection or other complications. If you decide to only remove nipple jewelry for individual feedings, it is essential that you properly clean the jewelry before reinserting after every single feeding:.
Actually, most piercers will not pierce the nipples during this time, considering that it takes up to 12 months for the nipple to fully heal. For this reason, only use reputable piercing establishments. What measures does the piercing establishment take to reduce the risk of infection? The final option, and one that is generally NOT recommended, is to leave the jewelry in place and make sure to tighten the jewelry completely before each session.
Most piercers will not knowingly pierce a pregnant or breastfeeding mother. This is for liability reasons on the piercers part, but also to prevent bacteria from entering the newly pierced nipples, and to allow the nipples time to heal properly. It is suggested that mothers wait until months after weaning before getting nipple piercings as hormonal changes during breastfeeding can affect the healing process. Reputable piercers will have a waiver for the client to sign that asks about pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Nipples are pierced in various configurations. They can be pierced horizontally, vertically, diagonally or any combinations of the above. One or both nipples may be pierced at one time. Jewelry used can include various metals gold, silver, stainless steel , glass, acrylic, bone or stone.
Proper placement and sizing of the jewelry is important to prevent embedding or rejection. After piercing it can take a minimum of 6 months for nipples to heal, but can often take up to a year or more. General information about piercings also applies to breastfeeding women.
Local and systemic infections are the most prevalent risks of any piercings. Local infections can occur when the recommended aftercare regimen is not followed. Aftercare includes keeping the piercings clean with mild soap and water, salt soaks times a day, and rotating the jewelry.
Systemic infections occur when universal precautions are not followed by the piercer and can include such diseases as hepatitis, tetanus, and HIV. It is very important to screen the piercer and the shop carefully, checking with the local health department for local laws and regulations.
Professional piercers will follow universal precautions such as sterilization of the forceps using an autoclave. The use of sterile jewelry, single-use gloves and needles, bagging of equipment to avoid cross contamination, and thorough hand washing with disinfectant soap.
There is little evidence surrounding the safety of nipple piercings and breastfeeding. While breastfeeding with previously pierced holes may be problematic if there is scarring or nerve damage. On the other hand many women go on to breastfeed successfully with pierced nipples, taking extra precautions regarding their jewelry, and the use of different breastfeeding positions to minimize and leaking and faster flow of milk to the baby.
It is not recommended to get nipple piercings while breastfeeding. Carefully weigh your options and seek out a professional piercer. You can chose to adorn your nipples with beautiful piercings, and give your baby the baby the best start in life by breastfeeding, with careful consideration of the risks and benefits. Angel, E. The piercing bible : the definitive guide to safe body piercing.
Berkeley, Calif. Armstrong, M. Pregnancy, lactation and nipple piercings. The hole picture: risks, decision making, purpose, regulations, and the future of body piercing. Clin Dermatol, 25 4 ,
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