Omphalocele

Overview

Parents of a child with an omphalocele

An omphalocele is a birth defect in which some of your baby's abdominal organs protrude through an opening in her abdominal muscles in the area of her umbilical cord.

• A translucent membrane covers the protruding organs.
• The omphalocele may be small, with only a portion of your baby's intestine protruding outside the abdominal cavity.
• It can also be larger, with most of your baby's abdominal organs (including intestine, liver and spleen) present outside the abdominal cavity.
• Also, your baby's abdominal cavity itself may be small due to underdevelopment during pregnancy.

One mother's story

Read more about a family's experience when they learned their son had an omphalocele.