What causes an innie vs outie belly button?

When you're born, the umbilical cord is cut and you have a small piece left called the umbilical stump. One to 2 weeks after birth, this stump falls off and what remains is your belly button. As a result, your belly button is essentially a scar. Whether it's an innie or outie depends on how your skin grows as it heals.

What causes Outie bellybuttons?

Most people who have an "outie" fall into one of two categories: either they were born with a tiny umbilical hernia, which is most likely, or had a small infection at the base of the umbilical cord that went unnoticed. This will cause unusual tissue called granulation tissue to form.

What makes an innie or an outie?

Typically, for an innie, the umbilical ring (the circle that makes the "button") will fully close in healing, but if an opening persists at the site, then abdominal tissue from underneath can protrude outward, forming an outie. 3 Umbilical hernias are usually present at birth and sometimes seem to appear and disappear.

Are innie or outie belly buttons genetic?

Innie or outie: Whether you have an innie or an outie bellybutton has nothing to do with whether your mother had one or your father or your grandfather. In other words, it has nothing to do with genetics. And it has nothing to do with how the doctor cut your umbilical cord.

Is an outie belly button a birth defect?

How a baby's umbilical cord is clamped or cut has nothing to do with baby ending up with an outie. An outie is normal and not usually a medical concern, only a cosmetic one for some. For some infants, the cause of an outie belly button may be an umbilical hernia or granuloma.

Understanding Innie VS. Outie Belly Buttons

How can I prevent outies during pregnancy?

There's nothing you can do to prevent changes to your navel during pregnancy. Just about every belly button pops at some point during pregnancy. Like so many other pregnancy symptoms, a popped-out belly button is harmless.

How rare is an innie belly button?

Most of us have innie belly buttons, with only about 10 percent outies. A few of us may have something in between, or even a little of both! Here are some more fun facts about our belly buttons.

Can you pull out your belly button?

Belly buttons can be removed, but you would be exchanging a belly button for a scar. The procedure would also be very difficult to reverse and recreate a belly button after it has been excised.

Does every pregnant woman get an outie belly button?

A: It doesn't happen to everyone who's pregnant, but sometimes a growing fetus in the uterus puts so much pressure on your abdominal wall that your normally “innie” belly button becomes an “outie.” It typically happens in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, most commonly around 26 weeks.

Can you fix an outie belly button?

Outie-to-Innie Surgery

Umbilicoplasty is the plastic surgery procedure that can reshape both the innie and outie belly button, although it also can be reshaped during a tummy tuck.

Why do some people have Innies and some have Outies?

It's related to the presence of space between the skin and the abdominal wall, he says. If the soft tissue protrudes through, you've got an outie, which is much rarer in people than the more-desired innie.

Does your belly button change when you gain weight?

The depth of your belly button can change throughout your life, depending on how much fat your are storing around your middle. Innie belly buttons often get deeper when someone puts on some weight.

What belly button is most common?

Vertical (typically narrow)

A vertical belly button is the most common belly button type, according to an article from 2010.

What does an outie belly button say about you?

Most people who have an "outie" fall into one of two categories: either they were born with a tiny umbilical hernia, which is most likely, or had a small infection at the base of the umbilical cord that went unnoticed. This will cause unusual tissue called granulation tissue to form.

Why do belly buttons smell?

Most belly buttons are indented so act as a trap for sweat, dead skin, and dirt. Few people wash the belly button with soap so germs can develop. The most common cause for a belly button smell is poor hygiene. All areas of the body need to be washed regularly to stay clean and healthy.

Do belly buttons change with age?

The diameter of the navel varies from fifteen to twenty millimetres. The body weight, pregnancies and abdominal wall hernia can influence the appearance. With increasing age or body weight, the belly button shape becomes oval across and the depth of the belly button increases. After pregnancy, the navel can protrude.

Is the mother's belly button connected to the baby?

The belly button is where the umbilical cord attaches to the fetus, connecting the developing baby to the placenta. Within the cord, there are blood vessels (the arteries) that carry waste away from the baby and another vessel that supplies the baby with oxygen and other nutrients.

What happens if your belly button doesn't pop out during pregnancy?

If your belly button does not pop out, don't worry! Many women never have their belly buttons pop out and that is completely normal.

What is the purpose of a belly button after birth?

Bye, Bye, Cord!

The brand-new baby doesn't need an umbilical cord anymore. The doctor cuts the umbilical cord and a tiny stump is left. When this stump falls off after a few weeks, the baby is left with his or her very own baby belly button.

Why shouldn't you play with your belly button?

Dr. Richardson cautions against touching your belly button with your germy fingers, as it can lead to serious infections.

What is the black stuff inside belly button?

Omphaloliths. As dead skin cells and sebum — the oil secreted by your skin — accumulate in your bellybutton, they can form an omphalolith over time. Also known as a navel stone, they're made of the same materials that form blackheads. The surface of a navel stone will turn black from oxidation.

What is inside your belly button?

Internally the veins and arteries in the cord close up and form ligaments, which are tough connective tissues. These ligaments divide up the liver into sections and remain attached to the inside of the belly button.

What does a deep belly button mean?

A deep hollow belly button typically occurs when the hood of skin casts a shadow on the inside of the button, giving the visual impression of it being quite deep. This shape is also common in people who have some excess belly fat around the abdomen.

Can your innie turn into an outie?

Belly buttons that change later in life

There are a few medical conditions that may affect the belly button's appearance as an adult. They're often due to underlying conditions that put extra pressure on the belly button and cause it to switch from an innie to an outie in appearance.

Does giving birth give you an outie?

“When a woman is pregnant, the uterus gets bigger, and it has to go somewhere, so the fascia in our abdomen stretches,” Dr. Greves says. And because the belly button tissue is already a little weaker, “it's going to stretch out even more so.” The pressure of the expanding uterus can push the belly button outward.