A conventional ailment that is often without any dire consequences, an umbilical hernia in a newborn child is like a small marble that appears around the belly button a few days after birth.
Usually, over the first eighteen months of the newborn’s life, this sometimes voluminous swelling tends to disappear.
Statistically, umbilical hernia primarily impacts black-skinned boys, newborns and especially prematurely born children.
Newborn umbilical hernia key facts to know
Definition of umbilical hernia
A hernia is defined as being a “partial or complete displacement of an organ outside of its natural cavity through a naturally-occurring opening”.
As for an umbilical hernia, it’s often discovered as a small pocket of variable size located at the point of passage of the peritoneum. Portions of the intestines or fatty tissues exit around the navel. These organs normally are contained inside the abdomen.
The navel itself is the scar that remains of the umbilical cord.
Symptoms of umbilical hernia
Seen with the naked eye, an umbilical hernia looks like a “little marble” that is set near the navel. The size increases after an effort, for example when the newborn cries.
During routine check-ups, your doctor will notice it for certain.
What causes umbilical hernia
A swelling that appears near the navel, an umbilical hernia is often caused by an inherited weakness of the linea alba on the abdomen.
A painless configuration, an umbilical hernia may grow to about an inch across, and generally dwindles over the first 18 to 36 months of the child’s life. At that age, abdominal muscles tend to grow stronger thanks to motor skill development.
An umbilical hernia may appear and worsen in case of breathing deficiency or cirrhosis, especially for adult patients who suffer from cancer or heart deficiency.
Also for adults, an umbilical hernia may appear following pregnancy, obesity, chronic cough or the fact of often handling heavy loads.
These factors all increase pressure inside the abdomen, and, consequently, tend to weaken abdominal tissues.
Are there any risks of complications?
Cases of complications for umbilical hernia in children are extremely rare.
When they do appear, they’re usually the result of a malformation or a metabolic anomaly.
However, what has been occasionally reported around the swelling is a “strangling” of blood vessels and tissues. This may lead to an intestinal occlusion. This type of trauma has the following symptoms: swelling of the entire abdomen and vomiting.
However, if the umbilical hernia hasn’t subsided naturally within the first 3 years of life, doctors recommend surgery for aesthetic purposes, but also because it may cause complications once the patient is an adult: constipation, nausea, jabbing pain, vomiting…
Natural treatment for umbilical hernia
Most often, only surgery is recommended to do away with umbilical hernia.
However, there seem to be some plants whose health benefits and therapeutic properties would help treat it naturally. Which are these? How should these plants be prepared? What dosages must be applied?
- These herbs can usually be purchased in pharmacies. For each herb, the packaging provides detailed instructions for use.
Often recommended are:
– Hawthornia – This isn’t a single plant, it’s a name for a blend or mix of citrus seeds, hawthorn, litchi and fennel.
Very common and often used in China, this mixture helps repair and reinforce the weakened abdominal wall. Hawthornia, when used as soon as the very first symptoms have been recognized, will slow and stop umbilical hernia growth.
– Sheperd’s purse is a plant that has medicinal properties known to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain. Reduced to a paste, applying it directly to the hernia externally is recommended to alleviate the symptoms. This medicinal herb can also be used internally to strengthen the abdominal wall.
– Chamomile (in the form of herbal tea) – this herb has benefits that soothe the mucus in the digestive tract, reducing production of gastric acid.
Since an umbilical hernia occurs exactly in this location, it sometimes triggers acid reflux. This can be very uncomfortable for the patient.
The following are also recommended in cases of pain:
– a decoction prepared from smartweed, lady’s mantle and walnut to soothe pain. Apply on the painful area, cover with a bandage: the patient won’t suffer anymore.
Internally, also recommended is 1 quart (1 liter) infusion steeped from 1 oz (30 g) oak leaves, common yarrow, cypress, lady’s mantle and walnut.
The dosage for this is to drink 1 cup, three times a day. You’ll be amazed by the result!
- Treatments should take effect within a week for newborns and twice as long for adults, according to traditional Chinese medicine.
Good to know about umbilical hernias
There is a folkloric remedy called “contention technique“. It uses bands of cloth with a coin wedged in the folds to cover the umbilical hernia. This reduces the volume but doesn’t cause it to disappear entirely.
Although this is often prescribed for children, it won’t have any effect on adults, so no point trying.
However, in case of doubt, it is always recommended to follow through with a medical consultation on this topic.
Mortar with herbs by Katherine Hanlon under Unsplash license
Good morning,
I have an 8-years daughter, she has a protruding navel and recently is experiencing severe pain right on the navel.. This pains when it comes will last for about 5 to 10 seconds. the obstetrician is recommended that we should see a surgeon .(Even though, my daughter is being treated for ulcer, resulting from the test carried out on her) Please, can this be treated in a local way ?
Hi Sunny, I’m sorry your daughter is going through such pain. It’s always difficult to bear. The pain on the navel indicates that the hernia, even though it’s small, is something important. In most cases, the tissues that are pushed through in an umbilical hernia are fats, which only have very few nerve endings. That’s why most people usually don’t feel pain when their hernia appears or subsides. In your daughter’s case, the pain indicates that either another organ might be the one being “pressed out”, or it might be a particularly sensitive nerve within the fatty tissue.
Treating this with plants isn’t the way to go in your case. It’s important to accept that surgery might be required. It’s a small surgery, in some cases you might even only be treated as an outpatient that enters in the morning and goes back home in the evening. I would recommend you meet the surgeon, if only to discuss what the problem may be. If it isn’t necessary to operate, the doctor won’t insist, especially since your daughter is already undergoing treatment for her ulcer.
Also, feel free to get a second opinion once you get the first diagnostic. It usually helps to understand the risks and what is going on. Doctors also understand this, and will usually be glad when someone thought of something they might have overlooked.
Hi there, thank you for this article. I have a 6 week old with hernia, I don’t want to give him any herbs to drink now do my question is, can I drink those herbal teas and transfer it to him through breast milk?
Also, can I use the topical herbs for him at this age (6 weeks)?
Hello. Honestly, it’s difficult to say how much of what a mother eats appears in breastmilk. For example, a mother ingesting extra minerals like iron and zinc won’t see a change in those minerals in the breastmilk (unless she had a deficiency to begin with). However, most vitamins do pass on over to the child. Herbs work on us because they’re a cocktail of many different compounds (vitamins, minerals, amino acids and more), the combination of which is effective. Since not all the compounds pass on over through breastmilk, but some do, it’s difficult to make the case and research is lacking in this particular field. To sum it up, drinking recommended doses yourself is safe for the baby, but it may not work or not as much as having the baby drink it directly. It’s worth trying. If you want to try having the baby take it directly, it’s best to check first with your pediatrician.
As for the topical herbs, usually doctors recommend waiting until the baby is 3 months old before applying ointments and such, especially when they haven’t yet been extensively tested. Before that time, the child’s immune system is still gearing up with help from the breastmilk, and it’s already dealing with its fair share of new compounds and chemicals, so it’s best not to overcharge the system yet.
I have too much pain in my umbilical since y2013 do not know what was the problem, then 2019 I got pregnant after delivery my umbilical cord swelled with a lot of pain after meeting Dr I was told that is henia but if want to conceive it won’t be operated now what i can do as the pain goes on.
Hello Joy, I’m sorry the pain is hard to bear. It’s a bit surprising to hear that the operation would impact fertility, but it’s true there’s always a risk. The hernia might not simply be fats, it might also be another portion of an organ that was pushed through during the pregnancy.
It might be worth getting a second opinion with another doctor, not necessarily because the first doctor was wrong, but because sometimes a fresh look on an issue yields new ideas. For pain management, at the very least, they should be able to prescribe something or recommend a course of action (specific exercises that might reduce the pain).
Can a 3month baby take herbal medicine for umbilical hernia
Hi Deborah, normally at three months a baby is still feeding on breastmilk and/or formula. It’s too early for other foods. In a month or two, adding herbs to the diet is possible, but it depends on what the manufacturer says on the label for young infants specifically. Take the time to talk about it with the doctor or clinic that helps you monitor your baby, it’s important to check with them first.
How do I use the hernia medicines for my 1 year and some weeks old baby since they’re capsules
Hi Betty, there should be a description in the box of capsules as for how to adapt the dosage and prepare the herbs for ingestion. For example, in some cases the caps are split open and the powder is mixed into food, but this should appear on the manufacturer’s instructions. A doctor or nurse would certainly also give useful recommendations, too.
I would like to know if these medicines have local names
Where are you from, Betty? I might be able to help find how these plants are called in your area.
My hernia is on navel fat deposit near naval size of pea.
What excercises should i do and how to loose weight and which medicine to apply how so that it dissolves
I have umbilical hernia which is large and I want the size to go down
Hi Donatus, for large hernias it’s actually best to go see a doctor. Indeed, it may be necessary to have a small operation that will put the tissues back in place. Also, it generally helps to lose weight. Having too much fat in the abdomen will keep pushing tissue out through the hernia.
Is kawakawa leaf good for hernia? My grandchild has a hernia on his bellybutton.
Hello Pail, kawakawa hasn’t been associated to umbilical hernia yet.
Where I can buy hawthornia herbal medicinal plants?
Hi! Usually you can ask your local pharmacy. They increasingly have an “herb” section. If not, they will guide you to a responsible provider.
How do I get to treat myself from this umbilical hernia with herbs and how long does it take to work?
Hi Helen. According to traditional Chinese medicine, for a newborn the process can take up to a week, and twice as long for adults.
Any treatment that doesn’t improve this or at least alleviate pain within two weeks should be stopped. Usually, the instructions for use of each herb is written on the packaging. They can be found in pharmacies.
As an adult, the most common solution is to aim for slowly losing weight. Tea helps with digestion. Herbal pastes applied on the belly button work towards stimulating circulation and dissolving the fats that went through the hernia.
In any case, it’s best to consult your doctor.