Umbilical Hernia - Miami, FL

Nothing to be scared of. It is not painful or dangerous at all. He may never lose it-my brother still has his at almost 50 years old

Yeah. It looks scary and the ped told you right.
What we did was put on the diaper so it would be just over his belly button, sort of like a cummerbund. Then when he cries, the diaper holds it in. You can also put a gauze around his waist. Don't worry too much, it's OK.

Hello R.,
As a Infant massage therapist I have been working with babies
with umbilical hernia. Massage helps the hernia to go down on size. I
teach parents to give massage to their baby so they
can perform the technique every day at home.

M. Berard
www.TheInfantMassageInstitute.com

Hi R.,
First off congrats on becoming a grandma!!My nephew had the same problem. He is 13 months and is ok now. The hernia went away. When he was small and he would cry my sister would go and get him a.s.a.p. She wouldn't let him cry because it would make the hernia pop out. So whenever he cries pick him up and soothe him. Good luck.

hi there...i had an umbilical hernia when i was little. it went away on it's own & never caused any issues. i'm now 30 and have a very flat tummy (except for right now as i'm pregnant ;) don't worry!

My twin boys were born with these. I had never heard of it either. At first, it really kind of creeped me out lol. My pediatrician told me the same thing (usually corrects itself by age 3). I was also told that is actually very common- especially in preemie babies whose tummies and digestive systems are immature or not fully developed at birth. In rare cases where it does not go away on its own, a minor stitching can be done to correct it. My boys are now 18 months and it is already significantly less noticeable. The important thing to remember is that it is not painful for the baby and doesn't need to be "treated" in any way in order to heal. Congratulations on your new little addition!

Hi R.. Don't worry about it, it's fine. My twin daughter has one also. Her earliest baby pics show how big it was. She is 15 months old now and it is almost gone! They told me the same thing about waiting until she was 3(except I think they told me 5)but it started getting better at about 6 months old. It does get bigger when she cries or pushes but it doesn't hurt them. If you touch it and he cries like he's in pain than there could be a problem but if he acts like it's not there than so should you. Hope this helps! :)

Hi R.,
I encourage you to visit my best girlfriend from college's "blog". Her son, Carson, had an umbilical hernia. Initially, the doctors said no problem, not to worry, we'll watch it, it should likely heal on it's own... But it didn't get smaller, in fact, they were concerned that it was getting too large to repair itself so they scheduled surgery for him and at ~9 months (on New Year's Eve), he had it fixed. His before and after pictures are on the blog. He did wonderfully with the whole experience of surgery, anesthesia, and recovery as you'll see from the blog. The post is dated "January 1, 2009 Bye bye Belly Button-Surgery Update" http://theschmittfamily-tx.blogspot.com/ If you want to contact her (Kelly) via her blog to ask her any questions, I'm sure she'll be happy to chat! Bottom line, she trusted her pediatrician and followed his advice. And when the ped said it was time to consider operating, she did her homework, and followed his advice and all turned out very well. I wish you and yours all the best.
Jenni

As stated by the others it really is not that uncommon. My youngest has one (she is 2). The doctor explained that as long as it goes in and it isn't painful to touch it is not a concern. If anything changes such as pain or more of a bulge..then it would cause for concern. It is normal to see more of the 'bubble' why the baby cries as the muscles in the stomach are being used. I am sure he will out grow it too =)

A.
Mom of 4

Hi R.-

I haven't had experiance with an Umbilical Hernia, but my oldest had an inguinal hernia and he needed surgery to get that fixed. I would suggest to your daughter in law that she take him to se a pediatric surgen. I also had a friend and she had an umbilical hernia and she had to get hers fixed. I hope all turns out ok.

Hi, R.. Hernias don't always disappear. I would get a second opinion. Umbilical hernias are generally not things to worry about terribly -- the ones in the groin, especially those in the testicle sack, need watching because they can become strangulated easily. I would get a second opinion if possible.

Keep an eye on the hernia. If it seems to be hurting him, or if he starts having belly pain, that could be a sign of a big problem.

Peace,
Syl

My son had the same umbilical hernia and I was very concerned. The pediatrician also told me it would likely resolve itself and go away in the first 5 years. She was right, by 12 - 14 months it was no longer a hernia.

hi.....your doctor is correct in saying that the hernia might go away by itself. My daughter's did! I'm a doctor too. The real danger is not when the ball comes out, but if it were to get stuck that way! And mostly that depends on the size of the hole in the abdominal wall. When the baby is calm, feel his belly and you might be able to feel the hole there under the skin. It's ok to press on it gently...nothing will happen. If it feels bigger than your finger, there is less danger of complications, and it may close by itself. The smaller hole closes by itself often also, but sometimes when the baby cries or strains the bowels pop out thru the muscle there (don't worry, they are still covered by skin!) and they might get stuck...and if they stay stuck for a long time, the bowel can lose it's blood supply and die, and the baby would get very sick. So if ever you see the ball pop out and it doesn't go back in, you can try to gently push it in, and if it is really stuck there you must see a doctor right away.

The other option is to just have it fixed surgically....you might want to consult with a pediatric surgeon. Dr. Julie Long in Broward county is very good. She will probably tell you the same thing I just did, but being a doctor she would examine the baby and judge whether the hernia needs to be fixed now or of you should just wait for it to close on its own.

My second child had/has one. The doctor told me it doesn't hurt them and will eventually go away. It also may pop back up from time to time. She is 17m old and most of it is gone. I have had people tell me to taped it down or use a penny and bandaid to push it in. These do not work and only annoy her.

Good evening,

My son Kevin had this, it started to show when he was around 1 month old & it also looked like a little ball or balloon tip. It did resolve itse;f around 4 years old. Most are no big deal. My pediatrician checked it at every visit & we never had a single problem. Just make sure it gets checked at each visit & do not worry.

Dear R.,

All three of my children had this. My oldest had to have surgery on hers at 2 and 1/2 because it started to cause digestive track problems. (This is worse case) My second child had his go back in by 6 mths. My youngest is 3 mths and her's started to poke out really bad and not go back in when she cried or push her poo poo out so what I did was put a band aid across it which helped it go back in after each time it got pushed out. I was surprised to find out about two weeks later it really showed that there was some improvement. Today it is almost completely healed. Bellybutton hernias happen to a lot of babies and each child is different. I know how horrible it looks at time, but it really doesn't hurt them. I hope I've helped in some way and if you have any other questions don't be afraid to ask. Good luck and Congrats on the new grandbaby.

Hi R.,

Umbilical hernias are actually relatively common. My daughter is nearly 2, but from about 2 months to 5 months or so it looked kind of scary, especially when she cried, just as you described. Essentially, it just means that the musculature behind the umbilicus didn't completely close at birth, and so there's a little space, which creates that little ball, and when the baby cries it actually a tiny bit of intestine is pulled into the umbilical space, making it look worse. Our doctor always checked it at every visit, assured us that it didn't hurt her (just to keep our eyes out if it got red or swollen or seemed to hurt her), that it wasn't causing any damage, and that it would resolve itself by age 3. He said in very rare cases surgery is required - he said the only case in which he recommended a consult for surgery was for a 1-year-old whose belly button was literally the size of an orange. So I'm sure you have nothing to worry about.
I hope this is helpful,
S. T., Ed.S., LMHC

My second daughter (now almost 6) had this and my 2 year old son has it now. The doctor explained to me when she was a baby that he will check it every visit to make sure it is of no concern, but there is nothing that can be done until after they are 5 years old anyway (that is the earliest any surgeon is willing to operate to fix the problem). Most children outgrow it as my daughter did by her 5th birthday.
It is actually very common.