These Gorgeous Breastfeeding Tattoos Will Make You Want New Ink

I breastfed my son for 16th months. Coincidentally, I also have 16 tattoos (watch out, world; I’m apparently more likely to be a “deviant” now, according to science?!). Do I have a tattoo of breastfeeding, though? Nope. And clearly, I’m missing out.

Moms everywhere are hopping on the breastfeeding-tattoo train, largely to commemorate this epic and life-giving thing our bodies are, amazingly, able to do. And, you know, because having an image of breastfeeding on your body forever is just a little prettier than an image of, say, childbirth.

We rounded up the most gorgeous breastfeeding tattoos out there, courtesy of Instagram. And in case you’re wondering whether you can get a tattoo if you’re breastfeeding: you can!

“I’ve never heard of any adverse effects from tattooing and breastfeeding,” tattoo artist and owner of Saved Tattoo Scott Campbell told SheKnows. “Aside from the philosophy that the emotional state of the the mom can get passed on chemically through her milk.” So if you subscribe to that theory and tattoos make you super anxious, maybe wait until you’ve weaned to go under the needle. But if you’re feeling chill about it all, you can indeed get a beautiful breastfeeding tattoo like the ones below while you’re still breastfeeding. (Just not, like, literally while you’re breastfeeding. Don’t bring your baby into the tattoo shop. Please.)

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Celebrating my breastfeeding journey with my first piece of body art. _ In October I shall be celebrating 4 years breastfeeding ❤️ It has been one heck of a journey but it's one of the things I am most proud of. _ My very first nursing experience with Elias was tough- he was a boobie milk champion and I was not prepared for just how difficult those first few months were going to be. Feeding all day and night, only settling on the breast and feeling so sore. It was really hard but we got through it! _ Then there was the mastitis (an inflammation/infection of breast tissue) and clogged milk ducts. Horrible things we go through as bf mamas. However the hardest part for me was nursing through pregnancy, twice. And a miscarriage once. Your body is feeding/growing two children, leaving you with pretty much zero energy for yourself. I was pushing from huge nursing aversion. _ When Niamh arrived breastfeeding brought more challenges after finding out she has a cow's milk and egg allergy. That meant having to cut those two things out of my diet. Still now we can't eat either of those things. _ I continued to breastfeed both children together, tandem breasting (child on each boob). This was one of my favourite parts of my journey. As a three we connected in this amazing way- physically, emotionally and spiritually. It was beautiful. _ Breastfeeding is magical. The memories I have shall be something I will never forget. Other than the challenges I just spoke about. It has been an absolute joy. From the milky smiles and laughs when my babies were on the boob, to the endless cuddles we had until they fell asleep on the boob. The amazing places I have breastfed like in an aquarium with sharks swimming above us or alongside the donkeys at the Donkey Sanctuary. Even the funny/annoying/embarassing moments like waking up in puddles of milk in the morning, leaking at the most inconvient time when someone's baby cries or when I accidently sprayed milk on a nurse at the hospital when Elias was having his talipes treatment. One day, whenever that may be. Our journey will over and this gorgeous tattoo will be a reminder of our breastfeeding days. ❤️

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When you breastfeed for four whole years, you absolutely get a tattoo to celebrate.

Bonding with your tattoo artist over motherhood is an unexpected perk of this particular type of tat.

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Women: growing and feeding our children while the weight of the world rests delicately on our shoulders. I stopped nursing Dev a week shy of her turning three, and I can easily say those three years were the hardest yet most rewarding experiences I will ever get. Not only was I able to grow her in my body, but I was able to sustain her life for years Earthside and create a bond that I cannot imagine not having. It also allowed me the most growth because it became very clear that my life, my body, wasn’t mine anymore. Many days were awful awful awful and I hated breastfeeding and did not like my child, but I’d tell myself it’d be worth it in the end. All the hours of pumping through nursing school and work, the endless nights of feedings, the constant touching (uh, that didn’t stop with weaning!) and did I mention the touching? Seven months after stopping and I can already say it was worth it! The years we had were so short and the benefits we both received will last a lifetime. This isn’t just a post to encourage mothers to breastfed (there are a million reasons why one can’t/won’t and it’s not my business) but it is a post to encourage those that do breastfeed to consider breastfeeding into toddlerhood. It’s hard, it’s great, it’s worth it and if you want to do it, YOU CAN. Make it work like the badass mother that you are. Fuck what society says about it being inappropriate. You do you, boo. Huge thank you to @tanintattoos from @mirrorgalleryflagstaff for merging two amazing pieces of art by @betty.ratbag. Easily my favorite tattoo and it makes me feel so empowered every time I look at it. #tattoo #tattooedmom #breastfed #breastfeeding #breastfedtoddler #weightoftheworld #breastfeedingtattoo #empoweringwomen #empowered #nursingschool #pumpingmom #breastmilk #liquidgold #fucksociety

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Steffani Rideau makes a case for breastfeeding into toddlerhood (she nursed until her daughter was three) in this Instagram post, but with a caveat we can all appreciate: “You do you, boo.” She also writes that her breastfeeding tattoo makes her feel empowered every day. Now that’s a reason to get ink.

Umm, a breastfeeding tattoo that comes with homemade vegan cookies? Can you hook us up with this artist, Audrey?

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Thank you for all your emails yesterday! Books are now closed. I'll be reading through them sometime this week and hopefully let you all know who's picked by the weekend. You will be contacted either way. Please keep in mind that there are only a few spots and hundreds of emails. Thank you again! . . . #freethenipple #breastfeeding #breastfeedingtattoo #femininetattoo #girlswithtattoos #illustrationtattoo #dotworkers #darkartists #blackworkerssubmission #blackink #annarbor #ypsilanti #kalamazoo #detroit #txttoo #iblackwork #btattooing #carriemetzcaporusso #cuntyfeminism #womanism #floraltattoo #flowertattoo #dotworkers #michigantattooer #luckymonkeytattoo #queertattooer

A post shared by Carrie Metz Caporusso (@carrie_metz_caporusso) on

Queer tattoo artist Carrie Metz Caporusso shared this gorgeous breastfeeding piece — and totally booked up her tattooing slots. Get it, Carrie.

This photo of beautiful Alisha cuddling her daughter while sporting a tattoo of her breastfeeding and cuddling her daughter is meta in the best possible way.

Babywearing with a breastfeeding tattoo = full Mom Mode at its finest.

Crystal Rose Tattoos pulled off this lovely surrealist breastfeeding sketch with major skill.

You can only barely see the breastfeeding mermaid in this beautiful shot, but she’s there sending mom-power DGAF vibes; because, as Instagrammer Delanie writes, “MERMAIDS don’t lose sleep over the opinion of shrimp.” Amen.

Okay, so this last one is not a tattoo of the act of breastfeeding per se, but this milk bottle notated with the number 13 honors a year-plus of breastfeeding that this mother (and her body) will never forget.

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