After childbirth, your provider will clamp the cord and then cut it, leaving a stump (umbilicus) behind. Between one to three weeks, the stump dries up and falls off. As the stump dries, it shrinks and changes in color from yellowish-green to brown to black before falling off.
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If you spot pus, bleeding, swelling, or discoloration, call your doctor right away. When the belly button has totally healed, the stump will easily fall off on its own. Some parents save the stump as a nostalgic reminder of the baby’s connection to mom.
Most umbilical hernias don’t need any treatment. Usually, the hole heals on its own by the time your child is 4 or 5 years old. Even if it doesn’t, it’ll likely get smaller.
After it is cut, a small amount of the cord will remain attached to your baby’s belly button – this will be about two to three centimetres long and is known as the ‘cord stump’. Over the next seven to 14 days, the stump will get darker, dry out, shrivel and will eventually fall off.
After the cord has fallen off, the navel will gradually heal. It’s normal for the center to look red at the point of separation. It’s not normal if the redness spreads on to the belly. It’s normal for the navel to ooze some secretions.
What does an umbilical hernia look like?
An umbilical hernia looks like a lump in the navel. It might become more obvious when the infant is laughing, crying, going to the toilet, or coughing. When the child is lying down or relaxed, the lump may shrink or go away completely.
How do I know if my baby has an umbilical hernia?
Symptoms of umbilical hernia include: A slight swelling or even a bulge near the belly button. The spot becomes larger and harder when the baby cries, coughs, or strains, due to the increase of pressure on the abdomen. Under normal circumstances, the hernia is not painful to the touch.
Your baby’s umbilical stump: what to expect
Often the clamp is still attached to the stump. During the first few days after birth, the stump gets darker, shrivels and eventually falls off to become your baby’s belly button. Sometimes this takes a week or two.
Umbilical hernias are very common in infants and young children, particularly in babies born prematurely. An umbilical hernia appears as a painless lump in or near the belly button (navel). It may get bigger when laughing, coughing, crying or going to the toilet and may shrink when relaxing or lying down.
Maybe not. About 20 percent of all newborns have an “outie,” also called an umbilical hernia. This is a bulge caused by the umbilical cord as it enters the baby’s abdomen. After birth, as the umbilical cord heals and falls off, the opening to the abdomen usually closes spontaneously.
How do I know if my baby will have an innie or outie?
The first distinction is usually if the belly button is an innie or outie. Innie belly buttons are like a little dent in your stomach. Outie belly buttons look like a little knot is sticking out.
If someone has an outie belly button, really what they have is a hernia and that hernia can be fixed. That’s done all the time. But usually it’s done with a general surgeon and the general surgeon will fix a hernia by plugging that little hole and it’s fixed.
Can an outie become an innie?
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.
After the cord has fallen off, the navel will gradually heal. It’s normal for the center to look red at the point of separation. It’s not normal if the redness spreads on to the belly. It’s normal for the navel to ooze some secretions.
What does infected umbilical cord look like?
Signs of an Infected Umbilical Cord Stump
A smelly yellow discharge from the stump area. A reddening of the skin around the stump. Swelling of the navel area. Your baby crying when you touch the stump, indicating it is tender or sore.
What does a normal umbilical stump look like?
At first, the stump might look shiny and yellow. But as it dries out, it may turn brown or gray or even purplish or blue. It’ll shrivel and turn black before it falls off on its own. Usually, it comes off between 10 and 14 days after your baby is born, but can take as long as 21 days.
As the baby grows after birth, this opening in the abdominal muscles closes. Sometimes, however, these muscles do not meet and grow together completely, and a small opening remains. This opening is called an umbilical hernia.
An umbilical hernia occurs at the umbilicus (belly button) when a loop of intestine pushes through the umbilical ring, a small opening in a fetus’ abdominal muscles through which the umbilical cord—which connects a fetus to its mother while in the womb—passes.
What can be mistaken for hernia?
What else can be mistaken for a hernia? While a hernia is the cause for most people who experience lumps in their abdomen, there are several other possibilities such as a hematoma, lipoma, a gynecological issue in women, or an undescended testicle in newborn boys. In rare cases, a lump may indicate a tumor.
When should I worry about the umbilical cord?
Signs of a problem
Much like a scab, the cord stump might bleed a little when it falls off. However, contact your baby’s health care provider if the umbilical area oozes pus, the surrounding skin becomes red and swollen, or the area develops a pink moist bump. These could be signs of an umbilical cord infection.
Does crying cause hernia in babies?
A hernia can develop in the first few months after a baby is born. It happens because of a weakness in the abdomen muscles. Straining and crying don’t cause hernias. But the increased pressure in the belly can make a hernia more easily seen.