Umbilical hernia

[sparkles212]

Hi. My 4 week old dd has an umbilical hernia. Her cord fell off when she was a week old but the wound never completely healed and weaps from time to time. Her belly button always stuck out but has gotten bigger. It was finally diagnosed as a hernia by her gp last Thursday. Her gp doesnt seem concerned at all and just said it should pull itself back in as dd grows and gets stronger. I was advised to take her to A&E if it becomes red or hard and can't be pushed back in, otherwise to just bathe it and leave it. However yesterday it had been bleeding a bit. I called the HV who advised it was ok as long as it wasn't hard or smelly and to just keep cleaning it with cooled boiled water a few times a day.

I just can't shake the worry about the bleeding. Its still spotting a little bit as i find blood on her babygrows. The hernia bulges when dd strains and at the mo she only poops once every 2 days so she does look like she's uncomfortable with gas or poss constipation at times. I'm worried this could make her hernia worse but when I mention everything to HV or GP they don't seem to bat an eyelid. Has anyone else got experience of this or similar with their lo?

My DS has an umbilical hernia too.

It used to really concern me and, just like you, it used to really worry me when he'd strain to poo. He had really bad wind and troubles pooing for a while so used to go so far and the hernia would bulge right out. Everytime I was hopeful it was going down, had strain and would become to protrude (back to square one!) again.

Well he's 4 months old now and I'm quite used to it. It still protrudes but is very soft and I can push it right in so it looks like a normal belly button. My HV is not concerned at all and said it should go down around the age of 1.

It's totally normal to worry. I used to think it might burst with all the straining! But it's been 4 months and he's absolutely fine. Just a waiting game in terms of it going down.

At 4 weeks, I'd say a bit of bleeding is ok. Due to the belly button sticking out, it's a bit of an exposed sound for a while. From what I was advised, hardness is the biggest concern. As long as it's soft (when not straining) try not to worry.

I can’t advise on the bleeding but my DC had an umbilical hernia which was pretty weird to look at - it did however completely resolve and go by itself without any need for intervention.

Thank you for your replies, it's reassuring to know others have experienced the same and are fine. I guess it's just a waiting game then until it goes!