Look down at your tummy and find the little spot in the middle. That spot is your belly button. It is a scar, and it is your first.

Let us find out how you got it. Long ago, before you were born, you had a cord. Your belly button is where the cord was.

The cord joined you to a placenta before you were born. It was how a baby got what it needed, and it was a lifeline.

Food and oxygen came to the baby through the cord. That is how a baby grew before it was born, even though it did not use a mouth for that.

When a baby is born, the cord is cut. A short piece stays on the baby. It is called the stump.

The stump dries up. Then it falls off. This takes one to three weeks. It is a lot like a scab on your knee.

While the stump heals, it is kept clean and dry. It is left alone, and no one should pull on it. It falls off all by itself, and you can see the belly button under it.

Sometimes a stump is red. It may be swollen or smelly. It may bleed. If you ever see that, tell someone you trust right away. A doctor should look at it.

When the stump falls off, a dent is left. That dent is the navel. It is the same thing as a belly button. Doctors call it the umbilicus.

An innie is a little dent that goes in. An outie sticks out, away from the body. Nobody gets to pick one, because it is mostly chance.

Animals with fur have one too. You can not see it, because the hair hides the small flat scar.

Go and look at yours. Each one looks a bit different. Yours is the spot where your cord was.

Words to know

• scar: mark on skin
• navel: belly button
• stump: bit of cord
• placenta: joined to cord
• innie: a dent