Navel piercings have long been a ubiquitous symbol of sex appeal and youth, especially during MTV’s TRL era of the early aughts; belly button rings were everywhere, and the accompanying shimmering hardware was displayed proudly. Fast forward almost 20 years, and many of those teens with belly button piercings have become parents.
While there is no medical reason to remove a completely healed navel piercing during pregnancy, according to the American Pregnancy Association, a piercing is stretched both up and down, as well as side to side, says Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon Sheila Nazarian. “That movement, in combination with the natural expansion of the skin with pregnancy, causes a stretched-out look, and the only way to remove this appearance is to cut it out.”
How Your Belly Button Piercing Changes When You Get Pregnant
