Question of the Week - Lower Back Tats & Epidurals
Friday August 15, 2003
Q: I've heard that if you get a tat on your lower back, you cannot have an epidural if you decide to have children. Is this true?
A: I had to look this one up because it was something I had never heard before. PubMed apparently did some research on this theory and concluded that there are no conclusions and no proof to substantiate this theory. BME quickly dismisses this as an urban legend, but one pervasive enough that even doctors have been known to believe it. Tattooz.net's medical expert says, "The needle would go through the epidermis, dermis and into the areas where the anesthesia is infiltrated without difficulty", but wisely advises that anyone in this situation get personal professional advice from their own anesthesiologist.
My conclusion? As a mother of two, I can assure you that there are so many variables when having children that it is impossible to consider and prevent any possible difficulty. I also know that doctors have a knack for finding ways to provide for their patients, despite obstacles. They're not going to refuse pain relief to a woman in labor just because she has a lumbar tattoo, even if they believe in the above theory.
If a lower back tattoo is something you really want and this is the only thing standing in your way, you can always talk to your doctor about your concerns and see what they have to say on the matter. However, it appears to me that the chances of a lumbar tattoo actually interfering with an epidural or other pain relief is very, very minimal if not nil.
A: I had to look this one up because it was something I had never heard before. PubMed apparently did some research on this theory and concluded that there are no conclusions and no proof to substantiate this theory. BME quickly dismisses this as an urban legend, but one pervasive enough that even doctors have been known to believe it. Tattooz.net's medical expert says, "The needle would go through the epidermis, dermis and into the areas where the anesthesia is infiltrated without difficulty", but wisely advises that anyone in this situation get personal professional advice from their own anesthesiologist.
My conclusion? As a mother of two, I can assure you that there are so many variables when having children that it is impossible to consider and prevent any possible difficulty. I also know that doctors have a knack for finding ways to provide for their patients, despite obstacles. They're not going to refuse pain relief to a woman in labor just because she has a lumbar tattoo, even if they believe in the above theory.
If a lower back tattoo is something you really want and this is the only thing standing in your way, you can always talk to your doctor about your concerns and see what they have to say on the matter. However, it appears to me that the chances of a lumbar tattoo actually interfering with an epidural or other pain relief is very, very minimal if not nil.
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