When a child has a hernia, one of the questions parents want to understand is: Why does my child have a hernia? Let me first explain two points: 1. The so-called hernia, small intestine gas and inguinal hernia are all the same disease, but with different names, the professional term is “inguinal hernia”; 2. Hernia in children occurs firstly because of the presence of unclosed “peritoneal sheaths”. The formation of the peritoneal sphincter is related to the descending testes of the male child. During the fetal period, the testes of every male child gradually descend from below the kidneys outside the peritoneum to the inguinal canal and finally to the scrotum. As the testicle approaches the inguinal canal, a “sphincter” forms in the nearby peritoneum and follows the testicle as it protrudes into the inguinal canal toward the scrotum. Shortly after birth, the sheath cavity near the testis also closes, and eventually, except for the sheath that surrounds the testis, which remains a normal structure forever, the rest of the sheath becomes fibrous tissue. If the sphincter remains unclosed (or incompletely closed) after birth, there is a possibility of hernia (or syringomyelia). Therefore, an unclosed sphincter is the basis for herniation in children. The unclosed sphincter is compressed by the muscles and tendons of the groin, and the organs of the stomach cannot easily enter it. Therefore, the presence of an unclosed sphincter does not mean that a hernia will occur. A hernia can only occur when an organ in the stomach enters the sheath. So, when do organs in the stomach enter the sphincter and form a hernia? There are several causative factors: 1. The presence of chronic coughing, straining to defecate, and prolonged violent crying in children makes the abdominal cavity pressure increase abnormally and squeeze the organs into the sheath, leading to hernia. 2. The muscles and tendons in the inguinal region are weak and do not have enough strength to act as a barrier, making it easy for the intra-abdominal organs to enter the sheath and cause a hernia. The above two causative factors are also the reasons for the occurrence of acquired hernia. The causes of hernia in girls are similar to those in boys, whose sphincter is protruding into the inguinal canal with the round ligament of the uterus and should be closed around 6 months of fetal age.