What Is an Umbilical Granuloma?

When your newborn's umbilical cord falls off, it sometimes leaves behind a small growth. Here's what it is and what to do.

When you leave the hospital with your newborn, you’re usually armed with tips for helping the stump of your baby’s umbilical cord heal. However, many new parents don't know about the possibility of an umbilical granuloma forming in their baby’s belly button.

Umbilical granulomas happen when the umbilical cord stump grows into a small lump of scar tissue inside your baby’s belly button. While it’s harmless and painless for your baby, an umbilical granuloma is often treated by a doctor to avoid infection.

umbilical cord stump

Walter B. McKenzie / Getty Images

What Is an Umbilical Granuloma?

A granuloma is a clump of tissue in the body that forms as a result of inflammation or infection. Granulomas can be associated with certain medical conditions, but when they form in the belly button after a newborn’s umbilical cord has fallen off, it’s due to the development of scar tissue during the healing process. (Some adults develop granulomas in the belly button after navel piercings.)

According to research studies, about 1 in every 500 newborns will end up with an umbilical granuloma. It's the most common abnormality of the belly button in babies.

Umbilical Granuloma Symptoms

An umbilical granuloma will look like a small, moist, pink, or red ball where your baby's belly button should be. It may be covered with a thin yellow or white film, leak light-colored fluid, or look pink and inflamed around its perimeter.

Your baby isn't likely to be bothered by an umbilical granuloma. There are no nerve endings in the umbilical cord, so neither the growth nor treatment by a trained medical professional should cause pain in infants.

Umbilical Granuloma vs. Umbilical Hernia

Another common umbilical cord problem is an umbilical hernia. About 20% of babies have an umbilical hernia, a condition in which the muscles around the belly button aren’t fully connected. This leaves a little bit of room for internal tissue to bulge out through the belly button and is often most noticeable when a baby is crying. Like granulomas, hernias are not painful for your baby, and most heal on their own without intervention by the time a child is 18 months old.

Umbilical Granuloma Treatment

Doctors differ in how they treat umbilical granulomas. Some take a conservative approach, disinfecting the granuloma with rubbing alcohol or Hibiclens (chlorhexidine) and seeing if it falls off or shrinks on its own. Other treatments include:

  • Salt: Rubbing a granuloma with table salt is a home remedy that can cause a small growth to dry up and fall off.
  • Silver nitrate: When a tiny amount of this chemical is applied to a granuloma, it cauterizes (burns) the tissue.
  • Ligature technique: Doctors will tie the granuloma off at its base, which restricts blood flow to the region, causing it to fall off.
  • Liquid nitrogen: A small blast of this gas can "freeze off" the granuloma.
  • Surgery: Sometimes, a doctor will recommend surgically excising the growth.

Signs of Infection

You should always be on the lookout for signs of infection in your newborn’s belly button. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an umbilical infection may:

  • Cause fever and/or irritability
  • Cause your newborn distress when you touch it
  • Make the surrounding area look bright red, inflamed, or streaked with red
  • Ooze yellow fluid or pus
  • Produce a foul-smelling discharge

Umbilical Granuloma Prevention

There's no proven method for preventing umbilical granulomas, but you should follow good practices to keep your baby's umbilical cord stump clean and dry:

  • Stick to sponge baths, gently cleansing your baby’s skin with warm, soapy water and a washcloth.
  • Carefully wipe the area around your baby’s belly button with the washcloth, avoiding getting the umbilical cord stump overly wet.
  • Pat your baby dry, including their belly button.
  • Fold the top part of your baby's diaper down to leave the area exposed to air.

Typically, the umbilical cord should fall off on its own between one and three weeks after birth, revealing a super cute belly button. However, if the cord is still attached after three weeks, an umbilical granuloma forms, or you suspect an infection, let your baby's pediatrician know.

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Sources
Parents uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Small Bowel Injury Due to Electrocautery Excision of Umbilical Granuloma in a Four-Month-Old Child. Cureus. 2022.

  2. Umbilical Granuloma. Children's Hospital Wisconsin. 2022.

  3. Pediatric Umbilical Hernia. StatPearls. 2023.

  4. The Outcome of Salt Treatment for Umbilical Granulomas: A Systematic Review. Patient Preference Adherence. 2020.

  5. Interventions for treating umbilical granuloma: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ Open. 2023.

  6. Umbilical cord care. American Academy of Pediatrics. 2020.

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