It’s a condition which affects up to 60% of pregnant and postpartum women, and it’s not uncommon to be wondering “What does it mean to have diastasis recti?” We’re going to learn more about that here.
Whether you’re pregnant or just had a baby, chances are you’ve heard the term diastasis recti. You may not know what it is other than something that’s hard to say (and even harder to spell). And it seems to be something that you want to avoid at all costs.
While diastasis recti is becoming commonly known in pregnancy and postpartum communities, there’s a lot of misunderstanding surrounding it.
What is Diastasis Recti?
Diastasis Recti is a separation between the two long, smooth muscles of the abdomen. Normally, these muscles are held closely together by connective tissue called the linea alba.
The linea alba pushes outward during pregnancy because of the expanding uterus. The hormone relaxin loosens ligaments and joints to help with this process.
After birth, the connective tissue doesn’t always go back to the way it was. This is what leaves women with a large space between their ab muscles.
Is this normal?
Actually, yes! All people have a slight gap between their ab muscles. Also, the uterus would have nowhere to grow if the connective tissue didn’t stretch. It’s not a design flaw!
What isn’t normal is the tissue staying stretched after birth. Ideally, it would return to the elasticity it had before. But as we know, this isn’t the case for 60% of pregnant and postpartum women.
Is it only pregnant women who can get it?
No. Anyone can develop it: non-pregnant women, men, children, and even infants.
There is a simple test to figure out whether or not you have developed diastasis recti.
- Lie flat on your back
- Keep the bottom of your feet flat on the floor
- Keep your knees up
- Lift your shoulders slightly off the ground (place a hand underneath your head for support if necessary)
- With your other hand, take your fingers and feel along the midline of your abdomen for a gap. Do this above and below your belly button. (A gap between muscles may appear in different places.)
- If you feel a gap, use your fingers to measure how wide it is. A 1-finger gap is considered normal. A 2-finger gap is considered moderate, and a 3-4-finger gap is considered severe.
How does it affect me?
A lot of it depends on how severe your gap is. Sometimes the only symptom of diastasis recti is having what most of us know as a “Mommy pooch”, or “Mummy tummy”. It can also be hard to perform actions that require good core stability.
However, there might also be some more difficult symptoms. Anything ranging from chronic constipation to extreme lower back pain, or even a hernia. There may be abdominal pain and tenderness, and actions you used to perform with no problem could be very difficult now.
Left untreated, diastasis recti can become worse with each additional pregnancy. It also worsens through doing abdominal workouts such as sit-ups, crunches, push-ups and planks. All of these exercises require good core stability and a normal-sized diastasis gap.
What treatment options are there?
Remember, having a small gap between your abdominal muscles is normal. Treating diastasis recti after birth never means closing the gap completely, only returning it to a healthy size.
If you can, it’s wise to consult with a pelvic floor therapist (or any other trained professional who specializes in diastasis recti). They can give their diagnosis on how wide and deep your gap is, as well as good core exercises to start with.
Yes, healing your diastasis recti involves core exercises. Not the ones we mentioned above- though if you really love doing those types of exercises, you might be able to return to them once your gap is back to normal. There are two basic actions that can help bring your diastasis recti to a close:
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Core-strengthening exercises
Most of the time, learning how to do these two things properly and consistently will strengthen your core and bring your gap back to a normal distance.
**In some cases, the diastasis recti is so severe that these two actions alone won’t bring the gap back to a healthy level, and surgical consultation would be the next step.**
Is it ever too late to heal a diastasis?
Maybe you’re on your fifth pregnancy, or maybe it’s been a while since your last baby. You know you have diastasis recti, but you’ve never done anything to treat it. Is it too late now?
No, it’s never too late. It may take longer to heal than, say, after your first pregnancy, but it’s always possible.
To be honest, there’s a lot that we have to deal with after having kids. While you may have known for a while that you have diastasis, you may have never had the time or the energy to start treating it before. Or maybe you did start treating it before, but life got in the way and you stopped. And you know what? It’s okay. Life happens.
Don’t ever feel like it’s too late to start, because it’s not.
So where do I start?
Okay, so now you know you have diastasis recti, and you want to close that gap. But all the information is so overwhelming and you don’t know where to start. Where do you start to get your core strength back and that mommy tummy to go away?
There are three basic options:
- See a professional and work personally with them
- Join an online training program designed to heal diastasis recti
- Find a diaphragmatic breathing tutorial and a list of diastasis-safe core exercises online, and work on it solo
Which one works best for you will depend on your personality type. If you’re someone who works best with in-person accountability, go for the pelvic floor therapist or equivalent professional. Finding a workout partner might also be an option.
If you are good at motivating yourself but don’t want to put together your own exercises, an online program might be best. They do cost money, but all of the tutorials, exercises, and even eating plans are right there at your fingertips. They usually have an online support group too.
If you are completely self-motivated and love to put together your own routines, go for it. A quick online search will give you thousands of example exercises and YouTube videos to choose from.
And the good news is, most of the breathing and core exercises that will help to heal diastasis can be done in as little as 5-15 minutes a day. So there is no huge time commitment.
Is there anything that can be done preventatively?
If you’re worried about diastasis recti before birth, you can start by practicing how to breathe through your diaphragm. Include a few minutes of these breathing exercises every morning and night.
You can also learn a few simple exercises that will strengthen your core and practice those for a short time each day. Core-strengthening exercises are different from ab-toning exercises (which are the sit-ups, crunches, etc., that I mentioned above). It’s good to incorporate breathing through your diaphragm while you are performing the exercises- that will get you the most effective results.
Another option is to get a supportive belly band to wear through the third trimester. This won’t strengthen your muscles or your core, but it will put less pressure on your abdomen.
None of these will be guaranteed to prevent a diastasis recti, but it can help to give a head start in healing a diastasis after giving birth.
Please note: I am not a medical provider, and this is not to replace medical advice. If you think you have diastasis, please consult a medical professional for diagnosis and treatment. See my medical disclaimer here.
