Pregnant woman says her friend wants to get a tattoo of her baby’s name

Tattoos are a lifelong decision. Some people spend years perfecting their design, incorporating only things that won’t change over time, like their children’s names… but is it ever OK to get someone else’s baby name tattooed on your body for all of eternity?

One woman has taken this to the next level, opting to have someone else’s baby name tattooed on herself, before the baby is even born.

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Tattoos are a big decision. Source: iStock.

An unwelcome baby name tattoo

“My friend just told me she wants to tattoo the name of my unborn child (due in August),” the woman wrote in her post to Reddit where she added, “My partner and I feel very uncomfortable about this.”

“When I asked her why she wants that tattoo she told me it would be fun and we never got around to get a tattoo together so she wants to do this instead.”

Trying to sway her friend towards another idea, the woman, who is in her early twenties, suggested a symbol with the first letter, but her friend just brushed it off saying not to worry about it because she’s not yet finalised the idea and is still saving up for it.

The woman has asked, “Would I be the asshole if I told her no?” and “It is not OK to get that tattoo?”

She acknowledges that it’s the woman’s body so she should get to decide what to have tattooed on it, but she feels as though this crosses a line, especially given her baby will be named after her father who passed away two years ago. 

“I feel like my unborn child is already being claimed and it freaks me out and angers my partner,” she said.

They were going to get tattoos together anyway… Source: iStock.

“Tell her she’s overstepping boundaries”

There were some really helpful suggestions for ways to address the issue, although most people agreed you can’t really stop someone getting something tattooed on their own body.

“You’re right about her body her choice,” commented one person. “You can’t stop her. But that’s really creepy. It’s your child. She has no relationship with your child. Your child isn’t even born yet. Tell her you think it’s disrespectful to your bond with your own child and that she’s overstepping boundaries.”

Another added, “I wouldn’t be letting that friend around my child with that kind of creepy behaviour. Definitely let them know that makes you uncomfortable. Maybe even lie and say you changed the name because of it, they can get some other random name tattooed on them if they’re gonna be weird.”

“Tell her you realize it is her body and her choice,” suggested another, “then quietly choose a different name without telling her, so that when ‘Kyle’ is born, she is stuck with a tattoo that says ‘Jason’.”

How would you handle this?