Mrs bcullman and I just had our first child a few days back. Her umbilical cord stump is dried up and will probably fall off in a day or two.
My question is, what is happening with the umbilical cord on the inside of my baby? Is something shriveling or being reabsorbed in that area too?
fetal circulation ; Umbilical Arteries constrict at birth
… To prevent loss of infantís blood.
… Umbilical cord is not tied for 30-60 seconds so that blood flow thru umbilical vein continues, transferring fetal blood from placenta to the infant.
… Blood change from fetal to adult pattern of circulation is not a sudden occurrence in some changes occur during the first breath, others over hours and days.
… During the transitional stage right to left flow may occur through the foramen ovale. The closure of the fetal vessels and the foramen ovale is initially a functional change; later anatomic closure results from proliferation of endothelial and fibrous tissues.
Interesting, no ?
Cyn, OB/GYN RN
The first breath the infant takes changes the intrathorasic pressure. In utero, the pulmonary pressure and systemic pressure are equal. That first breath causes the pulmonary pressure to drop. With that drop, a flap of tissuse closes the Foramen ovale.
The Ductus arteriosus allowed blood oxygenated by the placenta to enter the pulmonary circulation to oxygenate the fetus’ lungs. Once the lungs begin to function, the ductus slowly begins to close. It usually happens over a couple days. The infant produces hormones that assist in that closure. If it doesn’t close on its own, it’s called Patent Ductus Arteriosus or PDA*, the pediatrician may give an NSAID, Indomethacin. If that doesn’t cause it to close, they tie it off in a simple operation
Just a note to add that the ductus arteriosis should not close before birth, or the fetus’ blood pressure and lung blood vessel development will be adversely affected. There’s a small chance that a pregnant woman taking aspirin late in pregnancy could inadvertently close up her baby’s ductus too soon, causing much concern in the doctor’s office. (Also, she could be more prone to bleeding, should she need an episiotomy or other surgery.) Therefore, aspirin is not recommended during pregnancy, and downright discouraged during the last trimester.
I’ve just got to say, as a non-medical person and non-parent, that the black stump is one of the most disgusting things out there, right up with wiggly teeth. I’d rather see a gash down to the bone than see a kid wiggle his loose tooth at me.
I don’t know why they don’t trim off all that tissue that will turn black and fall off. Ew!
StG
They used to tie it off close to the skin. My belly button still looks like a puckered star where it was gathered together from being tied off close. I’ll have nothing to do with the plain-bellied sort.
If I can ask a related belly button question. What causes the differences in an inie and an outie (MS word does not have the correct spelling for either so I hope I didn’t slaughter it to bad.) My oldest has an innie, my middle a small outie and my youngest looks like freaking Kyle XY there is such a small button.
Also congratulations **bcullman ** on the baby 
Chance, with maybe a smidgen of genetics. cite with cites.
My daughter has a “flattie”. She was born so early, no one was really sure if she’d even have a belly button - her skin was still in “make itself” mode, not scarring mode. IIRC, we have at least one grown up Doper with no belly button, due to maldevelopment of the abdomen and it’s organs in utero. I’m afraid I don’t remember who it is, though.
I’ve got one friend with a reversible belly button. It’s kinda gross. It can be pushed in to look like an innie, or pushed out to look like an outie. And no, it’s not a hernia, but his umbilical scar.
My dad has an artificial belly button. Surgery left him lopsided, and he opted to have reconstructive surgery done to reduce the scar tissue, and in the process they built him a new bellybutton.
I’m not sure how long it lasts, but my OB has me taking baby aspirin to prevent preeclampsia while I’m trying to conceive and at least for my early pregnancy.
Absolutely, listen to your doctor! I’m sure dosage and timing are both very important. Baby aspirin is low dose and taking it while trying to conceive isn’t going to close the ductus of a not-yet conceived baby. The point is just that women shouldn’t reach for the aspirin for a headache in the last trimester without checking first; use of aspirin during pregnancy is “ask your doctor” territory.
Plus, of course, for every drug (or maybe just lots of them) there’s a cost/benefit analysis that needs to be done. If the benefit outweighs the risk, you do what you need to, y’know? Dying of eclampsia is no way to have a healthy baby.
Yes, and your link actually mentioned therapeutic benefits of low dose aspirin. I actually took a baby aspirin every day while trying to conceive and through the entirety of my pregnancies. I have lupus and associated antiphospholipid syndrome and the aspirin allowed me to carry my babies to term (after two previous miscarriages). I was told by my doctors to stop taking it 10 days before the due dates in order to lessen the risks of bleeding too much if surgery had to be performed. My second baby decided to come 10 days earlier than his due date, so that caused a bit of nerves among the staff when they thought they were going to have to give me general anaesthetic and do an emergency c-section (which was avoided in the end).
