Innie and Outie Belly Buttons

A friend of mine had noticed that all three of my children have outie belly buttons. She questioned why I hadn't taped quarters to their bellies when they were babies to prevent this from happening. She said her family for generations has done so and there isn't a single outie in her family. She even said her sister had an outie for a while, but her mother didn't want that and so she taped a quarter there for two weeks and it went back in. What in the world? I never thought one way or the other about innies or outies, let alone how I could "train" the first scar my children ever received for how to be more socially acceptable. I told her I had never heard of such, and it had to be an old wives tale, but she insisted that it is done, has been done and that it works. As to the veracity of the tale, I am not concerned. I am however, curious as to how prevalent this tale is. Have you heard of it? Is it widely attempted? Why are outies seen as something to prevent?

[Hyper Squirrel]

I've never heard of that, I doubt it would work. When my mom was eighteen she popped her outie belly button with a pin to make it an innie, and it ended up getting infected, but that's a whole other story...

ETA: Welcome to Snopes!

[tribrats]

Welcome to the boards! I don't see how that could work either. My two oldest kids both have innies. My youngest has an outie.

[Troodon]

I think "outie" belly-buttons look weird in an unpleasant way, but that's because everyone I know has an "innie". To each his own severed umbilical cord...

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Since most people have innie belly buttons (90% according to an uncited Wikipedia article), your friend's family would be likely to have innies whether they intervened or not. (I could say that all of my children are right handed because I tied their left hands to their sides when they were infants.)

Wiki says:

The reason for the occurrence of an outie is extra skin left from the umbilical cord or umbilical hernias, although a child with an umbilical hernia will not necessarily develop an outie. As well as the visible depression on a person's abdomen, the underlying abdominal-muscle layers also present a concavity; thinness at this point contributes to a relative structural weakness, making it susceptible to hernia.

My third baby had an umbilical hernia when she was about two months old. The doctor (who'd been my dad's doctor when he was a baby) said back in the old days he would have recommended binding her belly with a quarter over the navel, but that they've since found that that is ineffective. With our daughter, as with most, he said, the hernia went away on its own.

[We'veBeenHad]

Originally Posted by Spam & Cookies-mmm

Wiki says:

My third baby had an umbilical hernia when she was about two months old. The doctor (who'd been my dad's doctor when he was a baby) said back in the old days he would have recommended binding her belly with a quarter over the navel, but that they've since found that that is ineffective. With our daughter, as with most, he said, the hernia went away on its own.

I had the same thing, and grew out of it as well. My daughter also spent her first 5 or 7 years with an outie for the same reason, and hers went away too. The Dr. said if it didn't, we could operate but it would be purely cosmetic. I wasn't about to do that; if she had stayed an outie and wanted surgery later that would be her own decision.

[tagurit]

I can't recall one child that had a quarter taped to their belly button, but I heard about it enough as I was growing up, so someone must've had one.

[mizzie]

I've never heard of the quarter part, but my grandma said that when she had her children, the hospital gave mothers "binding belts". They were just thick cotton rags you wrapped around the babies belly so they would have an "innie".

My 3yo daughter has an outie like nothing else. No part of it goes in, at all, and it sticks about a third of an inch out of her tummy. Honestly, I couldn't care less. (in fact, it may keep her from wearing belly-bearing shirts as a teen, and that's ok by me! ) I was told it all depended on how the cut umbilical cord healed. And I'm with We'veBeenHad, if she wants it "corrected" when she is older, that's up to her. We aren't going to do it to her just for looks.

[marrya]

pfft. they're all just heaolous that THEY don't have outies!

I soooooooo wanted an outie that through my teens, I wore a bandaid [usually one with cartoon characters on, of course] over my [very innie] bellybutton!

The Mr has a "flattie" - his innie is so round and flat that you could lay a small coin in there. I'm also jealous of that one....

[sparklygirl]

I always heard it when I was growing up. My youngest brother had a quarter taped to his belly button for quite a while. Although I don't attribute it to the quarter he did grow up to have an innie.
Sparklygirl

[mela681]

I did tape a quarter on my son's belly button when he was a baby and he does have an innie, it really did seem to make a difference but I have no clue why. He probably would have had an innie anyway, it seemed to make the process faster maybe the quarter taped to it just pushed the stub in and helped it start healing that way I didn't see any point in it but my mil is very bossy and I didn't see what it could hurt.

There is also another part of the tale that I've heard that you push the belly button in with an egg, tape the quarter to it and then bury the egg. I didn't want to waste any eggs, though.