A-Z of thought: Umbilicus

A placenta attached to a mother’s womb is the way a prenatal child receives its sustenance. At birth, the baby begins to breath and for the rest of his or her life will join the rest of us and feed through its mouth. The placenta has done its job, and can be discarded. The connection between mother and child (the umbilical cord) is cut, leaving a scar – one’s tummy button, or more formally, the umbilicus or (in …