The body goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy and after delivery.
Some of these changes go away with time and the body returns to normal.
However, some can stick around for a while.
One common after-effect of delivery is a bulge in the lower abdomen. This is completely fine and goes away with time.
However, if you sense a bulge right above the belly button, that might mean you have a postpartum hernia.
Here’s everything you need to know about a hernia after giving birth:
Incidence
Hernias are not rare and affect and do now show biases between demographics, but postpartum hernias are a bit rarer.
Although they are not very common, they do occur, with the most likely postpartum hernias being:
A ventral hernia occurs right above the belly button and in the middle of the abdomen.
An inguinal hernia occurs further down in the pubic region. It usually occurs as a result of the pressure on the groin region during pregnancy.
Another common area for a postpartum hernia is the belly button. This is known as an umbilical hernia.
Causes
A postpartum hernia is caused by some of the effects of pregnancy or delivery still affecting the body.
The abdominal walls extend during pregnancy to accommodate the baby, pushing the stomach muscles and making them weak.
The muscles can even separate in areas.
The inner abdomen pushing against these weak muscles can result in a bump.
Furthermore, the belly button area is weaker than the rest of the belly, and the pressure affecting it during pregnancy can result in an umbilical hernia.
A C-section can also result in a postpartum hernia that occurs along the incision due to it being weaker than the rest of the belly.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of a postpartum hernia depend on the type and causes of the hernia.
General symptoms include:
Tender skin that hurts
A bulging belly button, or an “outie”
A midline bulge or a bump right above the bellybutton
Raised tissue along the C-section scar that looks and feels bumpy
A noticeable sign of these is that they worsen when you:
Laugh hard
Sneeze or cough
Lift something from the ground
Exercise
Climb stairs
Suddenly stand up
Diagnosis
Diagnosing a postpartum hernia is simple due to the nature of the symptoms.
A medical professional has to notice the placement of the bump and how it affects you to make sure what type of hernia you are dealing with.
Treatment
Hernias do go away, but you will need a medical procedure if it is large and causing you pain and other problematic symptoms.
Surgeons usually treat postpartum hernias laparoscopically.
Also called keyhole surgery, it involves an incision made on top of the hernia and a mesh is placed inside this “keyhole” the patch everything together.
For larger hernias, suturing the muscle walls with a larger mesh may be necessary.
Care is advised during recovery.
Not lifting anything or stretching the muscles extensively is something you must be careful of.
