Is it normal for your belly button to tear in late pregnancy? (warning: photo!)

[niphredil]

I am exactly 35 weeks today, and when I got out of the shower this morning I noticed that my belly button had 'torn' where one of the natural skin folds would be.

I Googled this and couldn't find anything about it. Has this happened to anyone before? A bit worried it won't heal as the baby keeps growing in these last few weeks... :(

My belly button turned inside out and continued to stretch and had stretch marks and was very, very sore, so feel for you .

I used to be covered in oil.

Ouch! That looks sore - do you have a midwife appointment coming up? Never heard of it before but would worry about it splitting further as you grow.

My skin was stretched so severely, the stretch marks (which were already thick) had tiny pinprick blood spots over them. I thought I was going to burst open. Sympathies!

Yes mine did this last time!! I think like Day said it's more of a long stretch mark? Or mine was. It was sort of like a scratch? Don't think it's there any more but am on my second pregnancy and haven't looked tbh!!

Are u sure you haven't just scratched it without knowing? As it looks like you just caught it on something and you also have a smaller scratch right near the big one. I'm forever knocking my Bump, I even accidentally burn it whilst ironing and pulling baking trays from the oven.

@weeblueberry it does look like a scratch - thankfully it hasn't bled as far as I can tell. Good to know I'm not alone with this!

@nappiesandnaptimes good point! I don't see my midwife for another week and a half so I'll give her a ring tomorrow and see if this is normal...

Possibly @Jodie1982 (I was born in 1982 too!), although I'm always covered up. Everything I wear is over-the-bump, including my nightie. I supposed I could've scratched it in my sleep though...

Having taken a closer look at that photo, there really isn't any redness or inflammation that would suggest the skin is splitting due to the pregnancy. In fact, I can't see any stretch marks at all! So it probably is just a scratch.

Maybe your skin was very dry and it split or being dry it became more delicate...

I know my belly often feels dry!

I think it's more like a scratch. Pop some 8 hour cream on it and keep an eye on it until your midwife appointment