Belly button is the little dent that we have in the belly. Though it does not serve any purpose in our daily life, yet it is a matter of interest to know what it is and why we have it in our body.
Belly Button
Before birth, a baby in its mother’s womb passes through the embryo and fetus stages. In these stages, its abdomen is connected to mother’s body by a long tube called the umbilical cord. A fetus needs to survive and grow during the pre-birth phase of nine months, during which it is supplied with nutrition from the mother’s body through this cord. Oxygen and food from the mother’s blood are carried to it through the vein, and the wastes are excreted through the two arteries in the umbilical cord. The cord is attached to the baby’s body at spot where the belly button is formed after the birth.
After the child is born, the role of the umbilical cord ends because the child can now eat, drink, breathe and get rid of the body’s waste by itself, using its own organs. Hence, at the time of delivery, the cord is carefully cut off as close to the belly as possible by the doctor. It does not hurt the other or the baby. The tiny stump of the cord that is left after cutting off the long umbilical cord dries within a week and falls off, leaving a scar or a dent on the abdomen. This forms the navel or the belly button.