Despite the commonness of tattoos, it’s important to recognize that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t deemed any tattoo inks safe for the purpose of injecting it into the skin. Chemical & Engineering News explains that tattoo inks often contain a variety of chemicals and heavy metals — some of which may even be toxic. What’s more, research has indicated that pigments from tattoo inks have the capability of traveling throughout the body as they are broken down. This has led many tattooed mommas to wonder whether their ink could be negatively affecting their nursing infants.
Medela clears this up by explaining that, because the molecules in tattoo ink are so large, there isn’t any risk that it could be transferred into your breast milk. However, there’s no evidence to suggest that this doesn’t change over the months and years that your body breaks down the pigment.
However, the potential transference of harmful chemicals isn’t the main deterrent from getting a tattoo whilst breastfeeding. Indeed, a 2019 article published in The Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health cites concern over the risk of infection as the main reason breastfeeding women should abstain from getting inked.