I’m not concerned about my navel coming untied, but I’m curious what it would look like if it had never been tied in the first place. Would I still be dragging the whole umbilicus around like some sort of mega-outie?
No, the cord would constrict its vessels after birth, then slowly dry up and fall off. Pretty much the way it does after it’s clamped and cut.
When did we (humans) start tying the umbilical after birth? What did navels look like before that?
I’d say they looked exactly the same. Whatever cord is still attached after birth, dried up and fell off, creating the same navel that you have. (Or similar enough, given that I’ve never seen two exactly the same).
The tie/clip/long end dangling, ending in a cut edge, isn’t relevant to what happens at the navel.
Ever see an animal’s belly button? Its all scar tissue after a while and looks the same as yours.
In north Cameroon, where many people give birth at home, there are a lot more outies and more strange variations on the belly button in general. I think it just doesn’t heal up as neat.
Walk me through the typical childbirth on medieval Europe or feudal Japan. Or current Northern Cameroon, it seems. Child comes out, placenta comes out, placenta is attached to child by umbilical. Then what?
I believe some animals bite and cut it, right? They obviously don’t tie it or clamp it, I presume.
Can you just cut the umbilical of a baby without such baby bleeding to death?
(and no, I don’t hink I have seen the navel of an animal, except for small dogs when they are still bulging black nobs)
Wha… ? Oh.
Yes, the animal’s navel becomes scar tissue, but it is level with the rest of the skin in that area. Nothing at all likewhat a human belly button looks like. I had a dog for ten years when I was a teen, and this disrepancy is what convinced me that the tying is what makes the difference.
If the cord is cut too soon, without being properly tied off, baby can hemorrhage.
But shortly after birth, the vessels in the cord do constrict, and circulation through the cord ceases. Left on its own, the cord will dry up and fall off, just as it does when it is cut. Most cultures do cut the cord at some point, as dragging the placenta around is not fashionable. Whether they tie/clamp it first depends on how much of a hurry they are to cut it.
There is no difference in outcome in how the umbilicus looks based on how the cord is or is not clamped, cut, tied, sliced, winnowed, harrowed, flayed, etc. Belly banding will make no difference either.
QtM, who cut several hundred cords before giving up OB about 2 decades ago.