In praise of Belly Buttons

[rocktivity]

4. Actually, you CAN be born without a navel

Strange but true: Babies born with no belly button

Early in pregnancy, the umbilical cord is attached to the baby internally, not externally. Around the 11th week, the abdominal wall should seal off the intestines, leaving just a small hole for the umbilical cord. Later, the abdominal muscles should grow together, sealing it off entirely and creating what we call the belly button.

An omphalocele occurs when this process doesn't happen the way it's supposed to. In contrast with gastroschisis, abdominal organs may protrude in addition to the intestines, and whatever protrudes is encased in a lining. "Imagine a piece of cloth with a big hole in it," Qureshi says, "and then imagine putting a sock through the hole. That sock is the lining, and the intestines [and other organs] are inside the sock."

Doctors repair the omphalecele surgically or, in some cases, using a technique called "painting," in which the lining is dried off with betadyne or a similar material, allowing the skin to grow over it. This is usually followed up with surgery to repair the muscle when the child is a little older. "Babies with omphaloceles definitely do not have belly buttons, so generally we try to fashion something to give the appearance of one," says Timmapuri...

Therefore, while all navels are bellybuttons, not all bellybuttons are navels.


rocktivity (split innie)

P.S. There happens to be a very successful fashion model with this condition -- her belly buttons have to be Photoshopped in!

P.P.S. Don't throw away your extra bellybuttons -- put them in the navel reserve!