Umbilical hernia in the baby | Umbilical Hernia

Umbilical hernia in the baby

The suffering of an umbilical hernia in a baby occurs in every fifth baby. Among premature babies, umbilical hernia occurs even in four out of five babies. Fortunately, the umbilical hernia in babies usually heals on its own and has a very good course.

An umbilical hernia in infants is in the majority of observed cases caused by the embryonic umbilical orifice remaining open. Nevertheless, a pronounced weakness of the membrane closing the umbilical orifice or of the muscular abdominal plate can be the cause in infants. In most cases, the umbilical hernia in the infant can be regarded as completely harmless.

Similar to infants and adults, the presence of an umbilical hernia in infants can be recognized by the striking protrusion of the navel. In many of the infants, the hernial sac emerges from the navel in the form of a hemispherical, approximately cherry-sized bulge. Although the umbilical hernia in the infant is rather harmless, a pediatrician should be consulted in any case and a physical examination should be performed.

If the treating pediatrician decides that no medical treatment is necessary, the umbilical hernia should still be observed by the parents. In most cases, the umbilical hernia in infants tends to regress spontaneously within the first few years of life without medical intervention. Treatment is usually not necessary if the umbilical hernia in the infant only shows up during crying and defecation and can easily be repositioned manually.

In most cases, namely the umbilical hernia regresses spontaneously without therapy. This is due to the fact that the abdominal muscles increase and the hernia thus becomes smaller and smaller. However, if the umbilical hernia steadily increases in size in the course of the disease and/or if the hernial sac cannot be moved back into the abdominal cavity by hand and the hernia is thus trapped, surgical treatment must be carried out in an emergency.

In addition, an umbilical hernia that causes severe pain in the infant should always be treated surgically. In infants, umbilical hernias are rarely accompanied by pronounced symptoms. The majority of children are not affected at all by the presence of the intestinal protrusion.Causes of an umbilical hernia in babies:The affected babies have an enlarged umbilical ring through which the umbilical hernia can develop.

This can eventually cause tissue to bulge out of the abdominal cavity. In the first days after birth, the umbilical cord usually falls off and the umbilical ring begins to shrink further and further. An umbilical ring is therefore something natural.

In babies with umbilical hernia only the subsequent adequate reduction of the umbilical ring was missing. There are also other causes. An umbilical hernia can also be caused by a disturbance in the healing of the wound of the umbilicus and also when the abdominal press is used too much due to the crying or coughing of the babies.

On the one hand, the therapy depends on whether parts of the intestine are in the umbilical hernia sac or not and whether the umbilical hernia really regresses over time. So the pediatrician should take a regular look at the umbilical hernia. In doing so, the pediatrician palpates the umbilical hernia and listens to the umbilical hernia with a stethoscope.

With this method, he can hear whether there are also intestinal parts in the hernia sac. This would be the case with gurgling, splashing noises. An intervention in the case of an umbilical hernia would be necessary in the second age if the hernia still has a remaining width of more than 1 cm.

In addition, parts of the intestine located in the hernial sac would be a reason for an intervention. If there are intestinal parts in the hernial sac that are trapped, the supply of these intestinal parts will be reduced, which will result in the death of these intestinal parts. Therefore a surgical therapy is immediately performed.

The surgical therapy is outpatient and under general anesthesia, but the child can usually go home the same day and it is a small operation, usually without complications. During the operation the surgeon closes the umbilical hernia with a suture. In addition, care should be taken to ensure that the operation wound is not subjected to too much physical strain in the first few weeks.

Otherwise there is the danger of a new umbilical hernia. During pregnancy, the umbilical hernia is usually caused by increased pressure in the abdominal cavity, which can cause the abdominal wall to tear in sensitive areas such as the navel. The abdominal muscles are pressed apart by the pressure.

The umbilical hernia in pregnancy also manifests itself here by a bulging of the navel. In pregnancy, the umbilical depression is generally gone, but only if there is also a protrusion can it be an umbilical hernia. In most cases, the umbilical hernia does not cause any further complaints during pregnancy.

Only if there is an entrapment of parts of the intestine by the hernial sac should one also operate during pregnancy. An incarceration is recognizable by pain of the pregnant woman in this area and a discoloration of the area. The pain can be pulling and burning, sometimes the umbilical hernia is accompanied by vomiting and nausea.

The discoloration is caused by the lack of blood circulation in the intestinal parts due to the incarceration. This is an emergency in any case. However, pregnant women usually do not need to worry, an incarceration of the umbilical hernia during pregnancy is a rarity.

In the course of the pregnancy, the umbilical hernia remains symptomless in most cases. During birth, the umbilical hernia also poses no danger to the infant or pregnant woman. After delivery, the umbilical hernia often recedes of its own accord. There are also special gymnastics that can be useful in the case of a regression of the umbilical hernia. If the umbilical hernia does not recede on its own, the usual surgical therapy is performed depending on the size of the umbilical hernia.