Not many people I know have outies, mostly it’s inies all around. I was talking about this with a friend, and we got to wondering, what’s the difference? Besides the obvious, one sticks out, while one goes in.
But what makes the difference? Is it how or when the cord is cut? Is it cord care? Is it something to do with your abdominal wall? What’s going on, exactly?
Why is an inie an inie and not an outie?
I know a family, where everyone but one, is an inie, which makes me think it’s not necessarily a genetic thing.
Bonus points for proper spelling of inie and outie!
No idea as to the answer to your question. May have to do with how long or short the cord is cut & tied.
As for me I have had what feels like 10,000 little devils pulling on a rope tied to the inside of my navel every once in a while. This has gone on all of my life.
Up until I was 22ish, I was always very thin. I always had an outie, because there was nowhere else for that bit of tissue “knot” to go except out. As I gained a few pounds and became more “normal” in my weight range, it became an inie. I assume what happens is that the skin moves out as weight is gained, but the tissue knot stays attached in the same place.
No empirical evidence, just a thought. I am guessing most people that have outies are particularly thin.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a concave navel is spelled innie, with two ns, probably because with one n, people would think it was pronounced “eye-knee.” Just FYI.
Ok, so you get the bonus points for spelling, RadicalPi.
I’m astounded there seems no answers are forthcoming.
That’s a great theory Hermitian, unfortunately I am living proof that’s not how it works. I have been underweight most of my adult life. Doctors often think I might have an eating disorder. (I don’t, I can eat an amazing amount of food!) But I have an ‘innie’.
I was really just wondering about the actual mechanics of the thing.
There is nothing a doctor can do or not do to promote an innie or an outie. Not cutting style, not length, not tying, not cord care. All umbilical stumps fall off where they will when healing is complete, even those in lotus birth where the cord isn’t cut at all. Some outies are caused by an umbilical hernia (basically, a small loop of intestine that falls into the space usually taken up by the belly button), but most are just luck of the draw.
Two belly button anecdotes: my friend has a convertible belly button. It can be an outie, and quite a protruding outie, but he can also push it in to be an innie. It’s weird, and it oogs me out as an outie, so I’ve been known to request him to convert it to an innie when we hang out and he’s got no shirt on!
Secondly, my daughter has neither an innie nor an outie! She was born very premature, before her skin was at the stage of producing much in the way of scar tissue. Her umbilical scar is completely flat! It’s possible that as she gains weight with age it might turn innie, but at age 5 (with a cute little preschooler belly), it’s still flat!
Okay, one more…my dad had abdominal surgery as an adult, and they cut his umbilicus out in the process. Later, he had plastic surgery done to create an artificial belly button! I joked with him that he should have left it, and we could have convinced my daughter she inherited her “flattie” from him, but he didn’t go for it.
needscoffee, all the pregnancy navels I know of have gone back to their prepregnant state, but I can’t answer that one authoritatively.
Related anecdote: My oldest brother had an outie, which was apparently Very Bad, so my mom taped a quarter to his belly for, I don’t know, ever, until it became a flatty. She says it worked. I have not examined my brother’s belly for evidence.
Times have changed. My son has an outie, and we stuff him full of food until it really pops, and are hugely entertained.
References seem to agree that it’s not genetic - it’s simply a function of the way the umbilical scar heals, and is not controlled by anything the doctor might have done, either, as previously posted. Wiki observes:
At any rate, if you don’t like yours, you can have a plastic surgeon modify it:
