In 90 percent of cases of pediatric hernias that affect infant boys, there is a genetic link. It's considered a birth defect.

"A congenital abnormality where there is an opening between the abdominal cavity and the scrotum area and that is something that kids are born with but not present until they straining a little bit and it pushes stuff up through that opening," said Dr. Barry Kogan.

A hernia in a child is not the same type that is found in adults.

"We are talking about an opening between the abdominal cavity and the scrotum cavity primarily in boys and it shows up not usually with many symptoms, but with swelling of the scrotum," said Kogan.

Kogan says swelling can be intermittent.

"Usually, the scrotum is more like the size of lima bean in an infant, but in some kids, it can be golf ball size or bigger and that is a tip off that there might be a hernia going on," he said.

Two percent of infants are affected. Hernias usually do not cause any pain and is very common in premature babies.

In ten percent of the cases, hernias affect little girls and it presents as a bulge in the groin and is caused by a defect in the embryonic lining and the treatment is the same.

"For very young infants, we like to wait it out for a year or so because many of these go away on its own and if we can avoid surgery, we'd like to do that. It's a very safe operation. It's an outpatient operation, minimal discomfort afterwards if we do it electively. If we wait until it is an emergency, it's much more complex and potential risk of problems," Kogan said.

Dr. Kogan says if the hernia hasn't gone away by two or three years old, it will most likely get larger and it's better to surgically repair it before more problems arise.

"Premature infants tend to have more likelihood of having intestines stuck in it and if there is a sign of intestines being stuck in the hernia and we wouldn't wait," said Kogan.