Embelical Hernia

My son had an embilical hernia. It wasn't a really bad one but it eventually went away. Just takes a little time.

Hi S.,
you have gotten quite a few responses but only one with someone that actually didn't change on it's own. My daughters did not close on its own. When our twins (now 7 yrs old) were born our son had a small hernia that closed on its own without a problem. Our daughter had a huge "bulge" - it was really scary at times. We talked to all the pediatricians in the office and all said that it might go away on it's own - it might just take 5 years and they would operate before that age if everything was ok. Well, most of her "bulge" is gone but there is still a big "outie" left. In the meantime we've talked to other docs and they all said the same. As long as it doesn't bother her, there is no medical problem to why to have her undergo surgery. She is very aware of her "different" belly button and says she wants to get it done. She is very athletic and has a strong belly which helped her with the closing but it also makes her show the belly (swimming, gym). Given that she's a girlie girl I guess she'll want to undergo surgery but until she doesn't really ask for it we'll leave it. My father has had a big hernia his whole life and he told me that he had suffered under the looks of others when he was younger - he would have had surgery right away if it had been a posibility then. Anyway, right now, there is nothing for you to worry about. Just wait it out and see what happens. It might be gone in no time and if not, well it's only cosmetic and something to think about it in a few years. Don't worry too much about it now just enjoy your little bundle of joy!

Yup, unless it appears to be hurting him, they won't do anything and it will probably rectify itself. Don't worry, it's completely normal.

I think you meant an Umbilical Hernia?

My daughter had it mildly. My niece had it quite badly, she literally had it the size od a plum!
It went away on its own, if it hadn't the Dr said she'd require surgery because hers was there for about her first year...

Hi S.. My youngest daughter had an umbilical hernia also after she was born. If your son's pediatrician isn't worried about it, then it should be okay. I was told that they usually go away by the time the baby is around 6-8 months old, which my daughter's did go away then (and you can't even tell she had it.)I was afraid to give her tummy time at first thinking that it would hurt her, but they said it wouldn't bother her at all. So don't worry, the stomach lining should close up on it's own, and if not, they may talk about some minor surgical procedures to close it, but I think they wait until the child is at least two for surgery.

my cousin has two kids that both had an embelical hernia and they are fine. they play with it all the time and there are no problems with it. their doc says it should go away on it's own after a few years, but if it doesn't they can do a very easy surgery(which can sound scary, but it's not). i would not worry about it at all. unless of course it starts to hurt him. hope this helps ease your worries.

I've had one all my life and it never gave me any trouble. When I had my tubal after my last baby was born, the dr. said since he was in there, he could repair it, but that he wouldn't have done a special proceedure for it. My mom said when I was a baby, it would really stick out when I would cry. When I was pregnant it stuck out a lot...but I never had any pain or problems with it. I am guessing that your son will grow out of it....meaning, it'll be les pronounced as gets older.

My son had the same thing...his went back to normal and is fine. Another friend of mine his still is sticking out a little at 17 months...but not cause for concern yet! Don't worry...it may continue to get a little larger before it gets smaller and it will look bigger when he is crying because his tummy muscles make it stick out when he squeezes them....

I had one when I was a baby...but mine got so big that they had to operate to fix it. My friends grandson also has this, he's 3 months, and the doctor SAYS it will go away by the time he is 4. Says they don't operate on those anymore except in extreme cases. Back in the old day, mothers used to tape quarters over it to hold in the hernia and allow the muscle walls to heal over it like it should. Or my mother said she used to use a "bellyband"....whatever that is! it doesn't hurt the baby, just grosses us parents out and raises concern. But if the doctor says it will go away, then I guess you just wait and see. Good Luck!

one of my niece twins had this & it did go away. i don't know exactly when, but i do know it was by her first birthday for sure (but i think it was earlier, even). it really didn't seem to hurt or bother her, as far as i knew. hang in there with a newborn!

Hello S., Yes my daughter has that and LORD it was SO BIG it freaked me out. I took her to Dr and they said same thing it will go away and it has. She is 4 and it went down around 2. still has a SMALL lil bump but NOTHING like what it was. I can send you a picture of how it looked and compare but I really would not worry about it. It will go away. I am serious this hernia stuck up I bet at least 2 in or MORE and I would put a onesie on her and it would be sticking out. THIS IS funny. A lil girl we knew saw it and she said I THOUGHT she was a girl I said Um she is she has pink on she said she has a boy part all the way up there. lol That is how bad it stuck out lol....

My second son had an umbilical hernia. The doctors DO say to just leave it alone. My son actually DID have (bowel) trouble due to the hernia, and we really didn't see HOW the hole was supposed to close up on its own when the intestine was poking thru it all of the time, his seemed to get larger rather then smaller. When he was about 4-5 months old, we decided to go for the quarter, within two weeks it was gone-we were sure to use medical tape and a brand new quarter, luckily the metal did not irritate his skin, and only removed the tape in the bath while soaking, so it didn't hurt him.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do. We went against the doctors wishes, and were actually quite pleased with it-although I am not usually one to recommend this type of thing.

~J.

My daughter had something similar. It ended up going away. It is worrisome looking though isn't it?

As a nurse who works in a hospital NICU, I second the post that says DO NOT use the quarter! IF you notice from the post that did use the quarter, her child was a little older, and it could have been a coincidence that the heria got smaller with the quarter use. I have seen plenty of hernias in babies, and they usually do not cause any harm. Surgeons only operate on groin hernias because of the risks of these. Most umbilical hernias close on their own without surgery or other intervention. You will probably notice it doesnt' bother your son a bit to have this, just makes us uncomfortable!
Good luck with your new son. It is natural to worry about him. Trust your own instinct and your doctor. Enjoy your new child.
R.

Hi S....
My son and my niece both had umbilical hernia's. They both resolved themselves. Our ped said that if they didn't heal before they were 2 then we would need to talk about the next option, but they did. I agree with an earlier post... if your Dr isn't worried, don't be worried. But don't mess with it either, you don't want to make things worse! ;)

My middle one had that, when it did heal, he was fine. He said it happens, because the umbilical cord falls off and because the umbilical cord was the source of nutrition, it leaves the whole. He said all children have some sort of umbilical hernia.

My son also has this, he is getting ready to be 2 in March and we have been referred to a surgeon to have it looked at. Our pediatrician is awesome, she said that it should have healed itself by the time he was 18months and since it didn't she is going to send us to see someone. She did tell us that as long as you are able to push it back in and it is not a different color than the rest of the skin on his tummy it is nothing to be worried about. Well now my son likes to "play" with it and show it off to people so we are hoping the surgeon will do something about it, it has begun to stick out a little further than it used to but doesn't seem to have ever caused him any problems.

Hope that helps you some, don't worry, it is really common!

My youngest son had an umbilical hernia, too. It's common among preemies. It usually corrects itself by around their first birthday. If not, the doctor may decide surgery is best to fix it. But it shouldn't pose a problem. I remember getting freaked out about Ben's! It's definitely odd and scary looking. Especially when baby cries and it pushes the belly button out further & further. But it's nothing to worry about just yet, mama. Ben's corrected itself by about 9-10 months old. He's almost 3 now and just fine. Just keep calm, it'll be okay. :-)