News Feed Discussions Postpartum Umbilical hernia? Postpartum Umbilical hernia?

  • DrOrenstein

    Member
    March 6, 2016 at 5:40 pm

    Postpartum Umbilical hernia?

    Umbilical hernias during pregnancy and post-delivery is an interesting topic for general surgeons. During pregnancy your body releases hormones that help relax ligaments in your body as well as tissues of the abdominal wall. While this helps to physically stretch the abdominal wall tissue to make way for the growing baby, it can unintentionally stretch things like a small previously unknown umbilical hernia.

    Many surgeons advocate waiting to fix umbilical hernias until well after deliver, and likely after completion of nursing, as this allows natural tightening of the abdominal wall & umbilical tissues. Many people won’t need their hernias fixed at all, though some still may require repair. There are several factors that surgeons take into consideration, including how symptomatic the patient is, the size of the hernia, body size, whether there are plans for future pregnancies, etc.

    That said, if you are having significant symptoms from an umbilical hernia it should be checked out. This doesn’t mean that you definitely need a surgery soon, but it’s worth getting evaluated.