I am thinking about belly buttons tonight: specifically, belly buttons and their unique relationship with pregnancy. Our navels go through so much during pregnancy. They are stretched, flattened, and turned inside out to the point that some of them never fully recover. Ever since I had my son, my belly button looks sad. The section of skin above the belly button (the part that is often pierced) droops slightly over my “innie” like a frown. I laugh at it, actually. It is just one of my “mommy badges” that I carry proudly.
You probably never gave your belly button much thought before it started poking through your maternity shirt. Your belly button is actually a scar, caused by cutting the umbilical cord. Everyone’s navel shape depends on how it healed. Even twins have different belly buttons. (That may be the only way you can tell them apart sometimes!)
But what goes on behind the belly button? Have you ever wondered what happened to the other end of the umbilical cord? The umbilical vessels, which once carried essential nutrients and removed waste, shrivel up and turn into several ligaments that are attached to various organs on the inside, such as the liver (that is where the round ligament of the liver originates). You may have already suspected this considering their presence is quite evident when you tug at your belly button. One of these ligaments, called the median umbilical ligament, is attached to the bladder, which is why many people will experience the sensation that they need to urinate if they pull on their navel. (Are you trying it? Put your finger in your belly button and tug it to the right and left. Feel that? Now go up to your husband and tug on his for a laugh.)