'Pretty in Ink:' Mothers Becoming the Newest Tattoo Crowd

STUDIO CITY, Oct. 17, 2007 (KABC-TV) (KABC) -- Maria Shaw views her body as a canvas for self expression, and she's part of a growing trend of women who feel pretty in ink.

"It's just another accessory. It's there forever," says Shaw. "I love stars and hearts, so I'm getting hearts. I already have stars."

Tattoo artists say it's the stars who have influenced many women -- celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Nicole Richie have brought tattooing into the mainstream.

"A lot of girls do stuff on their lower backs, shoulders, arms, ankles, wrists, but we get girls that get arm tattoos, chest tattoos," says "Captain Dave," a tattoo artist at Studio City Tattoo.

At Studio City Tattoo, more than 60 percent of the clientele are women. Most are between 20 and 30 years old, and almost all are repeat customers.

Women who want tattoos come from all walks of life -- professionals, students and moms -- yes, moms.

Remember Britney Spears' wild whim to get stamped again? Often moms get their kids' names or birth dates. What else is popular?

"Flowers, or Zodiac symbols," says Captain Dave.

First-timer and new mom Katherine Jentink is getting a special reminder of her son's birth tattooed on her shoulder.

"I'm going to get my son's footprint that they took the day he was born in the hospital," says Jentink.

Dr. Margaret Weiss is a leading dermatologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She's seeing an explosion of ink on her female patients, and not just on shoulders and ankles.

"Depending on the group of people, as many as 25 percent of women under 30 may have a lower back tattoo," says Dr. Weiss.

As the trend took off, some doctors wondered if lower back tattoos could cause problems for women who receive epidural needles during labor.

"One concern is that there could be some sort of toxicity from the ink itself. Well, the answer there is that one really does not need to worry," says anesthesiologist Dr. William Camann.

Dr. Camann performs epidurals on women with tattoos all the time. Sometimes as many as three a day.

"And we have never seen an adverse reaction that we can directly attribute to the tattoo," says Dr. Camann.

But when it comes to getting any tattoo, there is the risk of infection or disease. So do your homework first.

Katherine had no trouble at all and loves having a permanent reminder of her little miracle.

"He's gonna grow up, and I'll always just have this little tiny footprint somewhere on me," says Jentink.

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