Thoughts on Belly Button Piercing - A Personal Story

Way back in 1996, in the middle of all the hype of having your belly button pierced, I following the trend went to a reputable tattoo and piercing parlor to get my navel pierced. Within minutes I was sporting a very cute belly button ring and running on an adrenaline rush that lasted most of the week.

I was very careful about cleaning and care. Unfortunately, the area around my belly button piercing started getting very red and inflamed. It turns out my belly button piercing had become infected. Eventually with diligent attention and care the infection cleared up, however, I found that any time I attempted to change my jewelry, or moved the ring excessively I would end up back where I started... infected again. This was a pain but eventually my belly button piercing was fully healed and I had little trouble with it after that.

A few years later, I got pregnant. I didn't like the thought of how a very pregnant tummy would look with a belly button ring prominently displayed on the very tip and also that it might rub more against my clothing. Reluctantly I gave in, and removed the ring, thinking that the hole would remain open and that I could reinsert the jewelry after giving birth.

By the time nine months had passed and I attempted to put my belly button ring back in to it's rightful position, I was disappointed to find that the hole had mostly sealed over. I had no choice: If I wanted my belly button ring back, I was going to have to go through the piercing process all over again.

So, it was back to the tattoo and piercing parlor once again. Because of the scar tissue from the prior belly button piercing, there was some resistance when trying to make this second hole. However, with a bit of effort and patience my piercer succeeded and within minutes I was sporting my belly button ring once again. I was delighted!

The next time I got pregnant, another few years down the road, I decided that I didn't want to take the chance of having the belly button piercing close over again. So I thought that I would keep my belly button ring in for the duration of pregnancy, regardless of how ridiculous it might look.

What a mistake. The stretching of my growing belly, resulted in the skin around the ring getting stretched out of shape as well. I ended up with stretch marks around my belly button piercing and had to take out the ring at the seven month mark to my great disappointment. And, I was left with an ugly looking hole surrounded by stretch marks.

That was it for me. I never bothered to have my belly button pierced again. If you look closely you can still see where the holes were and the resulting stretch marks. I consider these to be my battle scars of pregnancy and giving birth. I still have my belly button ring jewelry and from time to time I do look at it fondly, but I've realized that those days are over despite my best efforts. I never think that getting my belly button pierced was a mistake, but I realized when it was time to let it go, and I'm okay with that.