Q: Hello Doc, hope that you are doing well. My problem is my daughter, one month old; she has a big umbilical cord (navel). I want to know if there is anything I can do, in order to make it become small? Please help me Doc.

A: It does sound like your daughter has an umbilical hernia. Don’t go shouting and screaming just yet! It’s probably not as horrible as it sounds. It looks all dramatic any time the baby cries and does appear to ‘swell up’ causing parents to panic. But, it usually closes up on its own by the time the baby turns 1 year though some may last slightly longer. If this persists up till the age of 3 years, please see your baby’s doctor.

Now, what’s a hernia? This is the protrusion of an organ or its covering through the wall of the cavity that usually…