“As babies are growing inside the womb, skin grows around the umbilical cord,” said Michael Schoenwetter, M.D., a pediatrician in private practice near Los Angeles, in an interview with NewParent. “Some babies grow more skin, which results in an outie, and some grow less, making an innie.”
In this post
The shape of your baby’s belly button, by the way, has nothing to do with how the cord was cut or anything else you or your doctor did. It’s simply a result of how your baby’s umbilical cord met her belly, and there’s nothing you can or should do to change it.
It can be an umbilical hernia. Umbilical hernias occur when the stomach wall fails to fully develop around the umbilical cord. The hernia bulges out when the baby cries, laughs, sneezes, poops, or otherwise exerts pressure on the abdomen.
An outie belly button is a cosmetic issue and doesn’t require surgery. Granulomas need to be treated to avoid infection. Hernias usually disappear on their own and those that don’t can be treated with a simple surgical procedure after the age of 4 or 5.
With increasing age or body weight, the belly button shape becomes oval across and the depth of the belly button increases. After pregnancy, the navel can protrude.
Why do people have Outies?
Outies usually occur when more of the umbilical cord is left when it’s cut, leading to more skin left over once it dries out. In some rare cases, outies are caused by a condition known as an umbilical hernia.
Most people who have an “outie” fall into one of two categories: either they were born with a tiny umbilical hernia, which is most likely, or had a small infection at the base of the umbilical cord that went unnoticed. This will cause unusual tissue called granulation tissue to form.
Keep the area dry by giving sponge baths in the first few weeks after birth rather than submerging the belly button in a bath.
An “outie” is typically a belly button with a small umbilical hernia. Umbilical hernias are more common in infants and in certain populations, including premature infants and blacks. Most umbilical hernias in infants are small and close spontaneously, usually within a couple of years.
This photo shows what the belly button looks like from inside the abdomen. As you can see, it is not attached to anything in the body. The belly button is where the umbilical cord attaches to the fetus, connecting the developing baby to the placenta.
vertical belly button
Vertical (typically narrow)
A vertical belly button is the most common belly button type, according to an article from 2010.
Because of its shape and tiny skin folds, belly buttons can collect dirt, sweat, and bacteria. In fact, the average belly button contains about 67 types of bacteria. 1 This buildup can lead to a smell and even infection. Your belly button may smell because of a hygiene need or an infection caused by bacteria or fungus.
Some people don’t have a belly button, and the reason for this may be related to surgical history or just an anomaly in how the belly button formed (or didn’t, for that matter). Most of the time, if you don’t have a belly button, it’s related to a surgery or a medical condition you had when you were younger.
Your belly button is one of your very first scars.
Your belly button is formed from scar tissue left over from the umbilical cord that joined you to your mother’s placenta. Once the umbilical cord was cut, the stump that was left behind fell off, leaving you with what is now your weird, but wonderful, belly button.
Dirt, bacteria, fungus, and germs can get trapped inside your belly button and start to multiply, which can cause an infection. If you develop a belly button infection, you might notice white, yellow, brown, or bloody discharge seeping out of it. That discharge might also have an unpleasant smell.