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- Hiatal: Both men and women are at risk of this hernia. With the hiatal hernia, the upper stomach bulges out. The cause? At birth there is a weakness in the abdominal muscles. There is no way to avoid this type of hernia.
- Umbilical: As infants are growing in the womb, there is a small opening in their abdominal muscles where mothers connect to their baby through the umbilical cord. This can be the site of an umbilical hernia. Once the cord is cut shortly after birth, these abdominal muscles should close; however, if this does not happen, fatty tissues or part of the bowel can bulge or poke through, ultimately causing a hernia in infants. This hernia type can also develop in expecting mothers, and those who suffer obesity.
- Femoral: This hernia generally develops in women who are pregnant, or overweight. Appearing in the upper groin area, a femoral hernia occurs via the femoral canal, a passage where large blood vessels stream in and out of the leg.
- Incisional: People who have just had an operation in and around their stomach area are at risk of this type of hernia. Surgery patients who gain a significant amount of weight increase their risk of incisional hernias because the scar tissue that develops after surgery is weak.
