The introduction of navel piercings in the fashion world turned into a whirlwind of new piercing trends and body jewelry. Although many thought that belly button piercings were a passing fad, it looks like these piercings are as much here to stay as ear piercings are. Unfortunately, unlike the perfectly controlled world of fashion, normal women with normal lives deal with something the realization of being pregnant. And those short rigid steel bars were not made with expanding bellies in mind.
When acrylic bars came on the scene, some people figured out that tongue rings were twice as long as belly rings, and attempted to save their piercing with those. The problems with that though are that tongue rings are straight, and acrylic has very little flexibility. It also wasn't a widely approved material for piercings.
Many women who were adamant about keeping their piercing through pregnancy went to fishing line. And indeed some OB/GYNs even recommended it as a last resort. However, fishing line, which is also not approved for piercings, is also not the same gauge as a standard belly button ring. So after wearing the fishing line, many women were finding they could not go back to their belly rings.
Enter PTFE and Bioplast. These materials are non stick, hypo allergenic, safe and very flexible, and they can also be cut to fit whatever length is needed. Many styles are now available with more coming on the scene every month. A Google search for "pregnancy belly rings" shows a whole page of competition now, where only one or two stood out just a few years ago. Some styles, (primarily bioplast) have a non removeable bottom, but you can cut the top. As long as you don't make a mistake with the cutting, this is an excellent option. Medical grade PTFE is a non stick material that is perfect even for new piercings. As pregnancy belly rings, they usually are sold with both ends removeable, so not only can you use it during pregnancy, but if you want to return to a steel bar, the ends fit perfectly on those too.
Now pregnant women everywhere have the choice to keep their navel piercings.
See http://www.pregnancybellyrings.com/
