Umbilical hernia caused by pregnancy

(This is a blog translated into English using chat GPT）

I decided to have the surgery for the umbilical hernia that I’ve been suffering from for a long time. I mentioned it on Instagram today. It’s been six years since Fionn was born, and I’ve been fighting against it every single day.

You’re probably wondering, what is an umbilical hernia? Well, it’s a condition where the fascia behind the belly button tears and creates a hole through which the intestines or other organs can protrude. In my case, it probably happened because Fiona was too big, and the fascia tore (but this is actually quite common). It didn’t heal naturally, so the hole remained open.

Fionn was born one month early, and despite that, he weighed around 3800g. He was a big baby. Also, our family has a genetic predisposition for having big bellies.

By the way, here’s a photo taken the day before giving birth. Sometimes people would ask if I was having twins because my belly was so huge when I wore clothes! It was really comical!

And here’s a picture of me during my pregnancy with my three daughters. Look at all of us with our big bellies! Interestingly, my second daughter, Mana (on the left in the photo), seems to have the same symptoms as me, so she probably has an umbilical hernia too.

(Here’s a photo taken about three days after giving birth. I was still in the hospital at that time.)

I didn’t pay much attention to it back then, but weeks and months passed after giving birth, and my belly didn’t go back to normal. I consulted the hospital I was going to for regular check-ups and to discuss having a second child, but they kept telling me it would naturally return to normal. However, it just didn’t happen. Plus, my belly had a strange shape, and whenever I applied a little pressure (like sneezing, exercising, or wearing tight clothes), my organs would come out, causing pain. I had to push them back into the hole myself, or else I would feel sick.

(My 6-year-old boy gained weight quickly and is now over 30kg and taller than 120cm.)

So, I did some research on the internet and finally found out about “umbilical hernia.” But by that time, the COVID-19 pandemic had started, and hospitalization and surgery became quite inconvenient. I left it untreated for a while. Just recently, I saw a Facebook post from a close friend saying that she had the same symptoms, got hospitalized, and had surgery. Since the COVID situation had calmed down, I immediately messaged him, and he introduced me to a great doctor. Everything went smoothly, and the surgery date was set.

I’ll be hospitalized for three to four days starting from next next Monday. Finally, finally, I’ll be able to say goodbye to this protruding belly! I’ll be able to exercise normally, wear any clothes without restrictions, even tight pants or skirts. I’m so thrilled! Although now I won’t have any excuses for not losing weight, so I can’t skip dieting!