17 weeks pregnant and worrying about my belly button piercing.

[ems147]

i had my belly button peirced when i was 16, im now 23 and 17 weeks pregnant, i took my belly bar out within a fews weeks of finding out i was pregnant, now im just worrying about what it will look like after the baby is born, will it go back to normal or is there anything i can do to help it?

[reikizen]

You don't really need to take it out unless it begins to annoy you or a stretch mark develops. I kept mine in with dd1 but with dd2 it annoyed me. Lots of women I look after keep them in. What do you mean will it go back to normal? What does it look like now?

[ems147]

im just worried about how the skin will look after iv had the baby, my sisters skin where the piercing was is really loose after her son was born even a year on and she is slimmer now than before she had her son, she complains about it alot. i dont want mine to be the same.

[ShowOfHands]

I have a belly button piercing, they took it out before they performed an emergency c-section on me. Was fine to keep it in.

There's not a lot you can do about loose skin or stretchmarks tbh. Stay healthy and active and moisturise but tbh, most tummies look a bit different after having a baby.

[reikizen]

Well, if all you have to worry about in terms of changed body shape/parts is a bit of saggy skin around your piercing you are doing ok! Depending on your age most thinks do get a bit looser after a baby to a greater or lesser degree.

[purpleduck]

You can get a long flexible plastic-y thing put in.

[ems147]

so what is best to do then? leaving the piercing in or taking it out? as soon as my sister found out i was pregnant she told me to take my belly bar out, she said people take it out once they start trying. iv taken mine out but dont think its completely healed, was hoping to get it repierced after the baby. im using bio oil at the moment hoping this will help.

[ShowOfHands]

Stretchmarks are something you will get or you won't frankly. Bio oil might make a small difference but if you're going to get stretchmarks then you will. I have them everywhere. Boobs, stomach, thighs, knees. Am a slim, fit, active, healthy woman but pregnancy just took me that way. They fade too. They were red and now are silver. Like I say, I left mine in, it was fine.

[Fruitpastels]

I took mine out in my first pg as it was becoming uncomfortable. It depends on your bump and belly button. I had no space left for mine as I looked like I was carrying a basket ball - all out front! Tbh it looked weird to me at the time, but I hadn't seen my belly button without the piercing for over 10 years. I'm now left with a small mark where the hole was and it's hardly noticable. I haven't had it pierced again and I'm now pg with child number 2. Some of us ladies are lucky and get away with the stretch marks. I didn't get any in 1st pg and now I'm 32 weeks and no sign of them. I do use lot's of bio oil and body cream to keep my skin supple.

[ems147]

fingers crossed im as lucky as you fruitpastels!! iv already got stretch marks on my thighs-had those before the pregnancy! and im not religious with putting on the bio oil!! iv got no hope!

[didsnbump]

I was told by my doctor to remove mine with my first, but then i live abroad so they might have different thought about it here. I did and i found after DS was born and my tummy went down it dint look any different to the way it did before. It took abit of getting in, but 17 weeks preg now and its still in and will be until im either told or it gets to uncomfortable, or looks silly through my clothes!

[bubblesincambridge]

Believe me, I'm sure you already look better without it.

[posieparker]

You should be worried, Mummies do look hideous with their bellies pierced.

[Stokey]

I got a plastic one which i changed to after about 16 wks

But then i guess around 22-24 wks that started getting very uncomfy too, pressing on everything so I took it out. 32 wks and looks like its still open tho is too sensitive for me to try & out anything in it.

[ems147]

my sister was shouted at by the piercing place for keeping hers in, apparently your body tries to push it out! hers went really red, she really regrets keeping it in!

[ErikaMaye]

I have a Bio-Flex one in (am 30 weeks) - only comment I have had made about it is my MW asking where I got it, as all the other girls complain they can only get a plain bar, and mine has a pruple heart Its not uncomfortable or red, so am planning on keeping it in for as long as possible

[Naat]

I got some that come with silicone bars off e-bay. They were really cheap (10 different ones for 3.98 or something like that) and those did the trick as it was quite red and sore when my belly got a bit big... I used those until the end of my pregnancy and then went back to the one I had before (the skin around it is the same as before but 12 wks later still a bit darker due to the linea nigra going across my navel )

[NewbeeMummy]

I took mine out years ago, and now that the skin has streached (34 weeks at the moment), the scarring looks quite odd and is quite hard compared to the rest of the skin around it.