Environmental factors such as abnormal stretching of the umbilical cord (during farrowing or placing naval clips too close to the skin) or infection of the umbilical stump could contribute to failure of the umbilical cord opening to close.
Investigation of a hereditary component is complicated by the nature of the defect.
While there may be a range in the ability of the umbilical stump to close, the characteristic is not easily measured except in the extreme (categorical measure – affected vs not affected).