Medically speaking, a navel piercing is a puncture wound. Every body will heal (or not) differently. Some women who have had their piercing for 2 years or more would have no problem taking out a belly ring for pregnancy. Another will have their piercing start closing up within a day. You can't know until you've tried it.
Pregnancy can complicate an otherwise trouble-free piercing. As the belly stretches, the skin thins, and can cause tiny ruptures to open. So you can get an infection where you've never had a problem before.
Because of this, you should always treat your piercing as if it were new. Keep the area and your jewelry clean. Even if you are not wearing a belly button ring, you need to keep this area clean because of the stretching. I haven't seen any medical opinion on this, but my thought is that if you have a retainer or flexible navel ring in the piercing, it should create a barrier for germs to enter. But again, that is assuming you keep the area and jewelry clean. Ask your doctor about this, and feel free to Email me with their medical opinions.
And a reminder....always wear the gauge you were pierced with. Wearing a thinner gauge means the piercing could close up smaller, and you'll be stuck. 14g is thicker than 16g. I know that sounds backwards, but that is the way gauges work. Do NOT use dental floss or fishing line. The reasons should be obvious. Whoever suggests this never had a piercing close up on them, or get infected.
Touching a bit more on allergic reations, the materials usually used for pregnancy navel rings are the safest out there. However hypoallergenic doesn't mean there's no chance of a reaction. If you have metal sensitivity, obviously you don't wear surgical steel belly rings. If you have a plastic sensitivity, you never wear acrylic. A plastic sensitivity could also make you sensitive to PTFE. Bioplast supposedly has even less of a reaction for plastic sensitive people, so you might consider trying it. Be aware...."bioplastic" and other words that sound similar to bioplast...well...they usually aren't. They are usually acrylic plastic, and that material should not be worn during pregnancy. (Or ever in my opinion.) Tygon is another up and coming material for piercings (though not really seen in belly rings), and is super flexible, but at this time is generally not available in exact gauges, and is so limp that insertion can be frustrating.
If you have questions or comments, feel free to post them or send them. I won't put your name online, unless you want me to.
All the best,
~Jeanne
