Q: Male baby born on 23rd Nov.2001 through caesarean. After one month the centre of stomach came out lightly. But now everyday that center is increasing and now the size of centre is like a half of egg. I discussed with our Doctor but he told this is normal after 2 month it will auto get down. But I fear and that is looking very bad.

A:It looks like your child has developed an Umbilical hernia. This is quite common in newborns and is due to the immaturity of the muscles surrounding the umbilical ring. The swelling becomes prominent whenever the child strains (passing stools or urine or coughing). No treatment is required for this condition now. It is known to spontaneously disappear as the child becomes older. It could also be a prominence of the abdominal contents due to poor tone of the abdominal muscles and not a hernia. Again no surgery or medical management is required.