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Tattoos May Pose Epidural Risk

Epidurals delivered through a tattoo may run risk of nerve damage

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 23, 2007 5:07 AM CDT

(Newser) – Tattooed moms-to-be may have added reason to opt for natural childbirth: Recent studies have investigated the risk of nerve damage resulting from epidural anesthesia. Commonly injected into the lower back, doctors postulate that some women experience inflammation when the needle pushes a small piece of tattoo ink into the nerves outside the spinal column, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Nearly one-quarter of Americans 18 to 50 have tattoos, and 20% of those women are tattoos on their lower back. Studies so far have conflicting results, with some subjects experiencing inflammation after the epidural and some not—and not enough data to be conclusive. "If I had a tattoo," one doctor remarked, "I'd say, 'Go around it.'"

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Epidural anesthesia, a form of regional anesthesia injected into the spine, might have unforeseen effects if piercing the ink of a tattoo. (Shutterstock.com)

Some doctors are worried that lower-tattoos, increasingly popular with women, may affect the safety of an epidural during childbirth. (Shutterstock.com)

A Key West woman receives a tattoo on her lower back. (Getty Images)

A patron receives a lower back tattoo at the San Francisco Body Art Festival. (Getty Images)

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Tattoos May Pose Epidural Risk

Epidurals delivered through a tattoo may run risk of nerve damage

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