Umbilical hernia

[Kezzar]

Has anyone else encountered one in their baby? My son has one at 5 weeks and I'm scared it will burst when he cries! HV says they go of their own accord normally, maybe a matter of months, but could be longer. If not, operation can sort it. Has anyone had similar problem? Another worry to cope with!

Dd2 had one when she was a baby. It used to blow up then deflate like a balloon. It did go away after a few months though.

Kezzr, my dd has an epigastric hernia (which is higher up than an umbilical one, so halfway between her belly button and ribs).

I know the umbilical ones tend to resolve themselves - I got some sort of factsheet when I went to her paed appointment (epigastric ones have to be operated on) that said 80-90% of umbilical ones resolve themselves by 2. Even then, they only operate if they think it's absolutely necessary as umbilical hernias are the least likely to strangulate (which is what they are worried about).

I know how frightening it is when they cry and the hernias get so big - you will also find that if he gets a cough, the hernia will pop out! If I was you, I would just get it checked out everytime you get him weighed, just to make sure it's OK but I think it is one of those things that looks worse than it is!

oh and apparently, it causes them no discomfort. I know my dd (who's 4 and is having operation in a month's time) never complains about hers and she would be the first one to shout if she was hurting anywhere.

But I know, the last thing you need with a newborn is any extra worry, so just remind yourself that the doctor's probably aren't going to worry about it until he's older and just get it checked regularly if you have any concerns. Good luck.

Hiya Kezzer

Yes my dd had one until she was just over a year (was 10 weeks prem), and I was getting really worried so I made sure that everytime she was weighed or saw the doctor they would check it out, and then it just started to deflate and now she is 17 months and it's gone but it has left her with an outie which is unusal for our family.

So as long as you check it and make sure that it isn't weeping etc then it should just shrink away.

Take Care & sending you huggs [hug]

kezzar you may think I'm mad, but my mum is a gp and my cousin's child had an umbilical hernia. my mum told her to tape over it with a piece of elastoplast (pushing it in first if it had popped out) to hold it in and together if you will, and just keep it taped up until it has healed, changing the elastoplast as necessary. She says that this was always the old fashioned way of dealing with them, and that it made them heal much quicker because it sort of held it together (much as they use butterfly strips to hold together a wound so that the edges knit together more quickly. She doesn't understand why people don't do it here more, but she has a lot of W Indian patients (who are genetically more susceptible to umbilical hernia apparently) and they all do it as a matter of course and she sees much better results with them than with people who just let it all hang out iykwim! I strongly advise it, my cousin didn't start doing it until her son was about 4 months (and his was VERY protruberant and yucky looking) and it really helped. And also resolved the "looking like it will pop when he cries" dilemma as well!

good luck

K pph is a pal of mine
not a mad loon!

Hi Kezzar,
My DD had one, she was operated on when she was one. The operation was straight forward, she was out of hospital the same day, and had no discomfort from the stiches. She now has a lovely tummy button and everything looks fine. So if your son does eventually need an operation don't worry too much (difficult I know).

My 10 week old has one too. Paed said not too worry as it should sort itself out. They will operate if it is still there when he starts school to avoid teasing.

~PS - all is ok if you can push it back in gently. I check this periodically.