# Giving birth with genital piercings



## Sarahstw (Jun 18, 2006)

Anyone given birth with their genital piercings in?
Should they be removed before? Why?
I somehow can't imagine any studies have been done on the subject...
oh, and *which* piercings?

thanks for your insight!


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## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

I would remove them because I would worry about what the pressure and stretching caused by the baby's emergence might do....


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## feminist~mama (Mar 6, 2002)

I totally agree! Take them out before birth- all of them! You have no way of knowing how your body is going to stretch or tear... and you don't want the piercing interfering/ being a weak point/ getting caught on anything.

Have you seen (or had) a vaginal birth? I'm a labor and delivery nurse so I've seen plenty and the stretching and then swelling afterward can be pretty amazing!

ETA: Ah, I see you've done some midwifery training! So I'm sure you know all about stretching and tearing and swelling!







I wouldn't leave anything "extra" in down there for the birth... lol!


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## kawa kamuri (Apr 19, 2006)

i've birthed with both vertical and horizontal hood piercings in place ranging from 12g to 2g with no problems. not a big deal to remove them and then put back in if you're worried but i never have been.


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## Jilian (Jun 16, 2003)

I'd take them all out just to be safe. But then again I'm prone to tearing and I'd be worried about harming the piercing or the piercing scraping the baby's head on the way out.


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## pittnurse08 (Dec 19, 2004)

Honestly, I think most clitoral hood piercings should be pretty safe, but anything lower (labial, etc.) you might want to take out. I plan on leaving in my 12 gauge VCH and just using a barbell that seems long enough to accommodate any tissue swelling. As a labor & deliver nurse and apprentice midwife I have seen plenty of labial tears, but 0 that have torn into the clitoral hood.


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## Sarahstw (Jun 18, 2006)

Thanks for the responses!
I guess I'm not too worried about the hood piercings, but somehow swelling had slipped my mind... I guess I'll just switch to longer jewelry.
I'm kinda sad to think about removing my labial piercings though. I've already had to remove so much metal from my body!

Now the next problem will be figuring out *how* to remove/change this jewelry... A handful of mirrors and instruments maybe?


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## mamatolevi (Apr 10, 2009)

maybe whoever did the piercings could help you?


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## mommyfied (Jun 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pittnurse08* 
As a labor & deliver nurse and apprentice midwife I have seen plenty of labial tears, but 0 that have torn into the clitoral hood.

My tear went right up to the clitoral hood - the labia separated from it. It sucks. I'd definitely recommend taking them out just in case.


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## Peppamint (Oct 19, 2002)

I would prefer that a client with genital piercings remove them, just to be safe. I'm thinking of scenarios like a nuchal hand or a baby who needs maneuvering.


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