Pregnancy with a Hernia

After my first pregnancy, I had developed diastasis recti, which according to Google “is the separation of the rectus abdominis muscles during and after pregnancy. The rectus abdominis runs vertically along the front of your stomach. It’s frequently referred to as someone’s ‘six-pack abs.'” This, in turn, became an umbilical hernia, which by Google definition “is an abnormal bulge that can be seen or felt at the umbilicus (belly button). This hernia develops when a portion of the lining of the abdomen, part of the intestine, and / or fluid from the abdomen, comes through the muscle of the abdominal wall.” Basically, my innie belly button became an outtie.

Now I am one of the lucky ones and this has only briefly caused me any pain or discomfort and that was during the very beginning of my first trimester with my second pregnancy. I truly didn’t allow myself any time to heal my body between pregnancies and after a C-Section, there’s a lot to repair inside, which takes time that I did not give it. Unfortunately the only way to heal this is with surgery.

And due to this not causing any pain or further concern, I cannot do anything about it until my husband and I have fully decided our family is complete and we are done having children. When I had booked a surgery to fix it and this was brought to our attention, our daughter was only 5 months old and we were not ready to make this call. So until we are through growing our family, I will have to live with this.

That is the part that gets to me. I may not have any pain from it, but I now have this enlarged outtie belly button I never had before and I am not a fan. I have tried all kinds of things to hide it away from compression pants to compression bands, kinesiology tape and wearing flowing tops and layers to pack it away from sight. None of it really works. It has taken a toll on my mental health and self image, but it is a reminder of the two beautiful, amazing babies I already have and where they came from.

Having kids can have it’s ups and downs when it comes to our bodies and mental health, but at the end of the day, having them in our lives is an unmatched honour. I will continue to live with umbilical hernia until it is time to have the proper procedure to rid myself of it. I have been told by my doctor and the surgeon I nearly had the surgery with that if it ever causes me serious pain or symptoms I will have to move forward faster than I’d like. But in the meantime, I will live with it and wear it like a badge of honour, hidden and tucked away behind flowing shirts and compression pants.

Melanie xoxox