My Abs are Separated – Diastasis Recti
This weekend I was on Facebook in the middle of the night, while feeding Ezra, and clicked on this article: This Condition Could be Causing Your Mom Pooch.
The piece was about Diastasis Recti, which is the separation of the ab muscles, causing your stomach to pooch. The article said 2 out of 3 women who have had two or more babies have it. I knew before even doing the test, I had it – and probably have had it since Adeline.
I watched this video about how to test if you have it.
When I went back to bed, I felt down my stomach. Yep, there it was. A hole in my abs.
I had heard that it was possible for your abs to separate in pregnancy, but hadn’t considered it for myself until reading the article.
During the next feeding, I started watching more videos about it on YouTube.
Today I plan to call my midwife’s office to see if they have a therapist to recommend. I have been working out since the beginning of April, and now know, NO MORE PLANKS AND CRUNCHES. I also want to hear your stories.
Did or do you have Diastasis Recti? What worked for you? Any advice?
You poor thing!! Definitely stop all your tummy exercises. My sister in law had the hip-to-hip surgery on Mar 30 for this very issue. And she didn’t realise she had it, so did tonnes and tonnes of “tummy toning” exercises and managed to create a hernia as well. I hope you get the physio help you need and it can heal itself without surgery.
Oh. My! So my “baby” is 12 years old now, and all the women in my family have had this pooch so I just 🙁 accepted it. And hated it. Thank you for sharing this. I am going to check it out more, and possibly adding it to the Health course my high school daughters are taking this summer! (some day they will be mommas and how wonderful for them to know something BEFORE it happens!)
Check out LIndsay Brin’s videos…momsintofitness.com. She has specific exercises to help with that! I had it too, and now it’s back to normal, although I still don’t think my abs are quite what they used to be (not talking about looks, but talking about the exercises I am capable of doing.) Surprisingly there really isn’t much information out there about it!
I have it and it was pretty severe during my last pregnancy so I knew I’d need to do something after I had my baby. I started the mutu program about 3 weeks ago. Before that I had ordered the tupler technique program with the splint but wearing the splint really drove me crazy. I found mutu and love it! It is all about proper alignment and training your body to get your abs back together and just taking care of yourself. I can do most of the exercises so far while my baby is crawling around near me and my older son is playing.
Yup, I had about a 4 finger width space after both of my pregnancies (both c-sections). I was aware of it from the beginning thanks to my sister explaining it. I spent some time doing the safe exercises, using youtube videos to help me learn them but didn’t keep up with them as well as I should have. But the space did decrease to a 1-2 finger width space after maybe 6-8 months. My muscles/core is by no means toned but it is stronger than it was after my daughter was born (Feb 2014).
My sister is using this program: http://mutusystem.com/about-us.html
You are so in our wheelhouse right now. Come on over, we’ll hold the door open for you 🙂 Give us two weeks. http://mommastrong.com/diastasis-recti
I’m so sorry! I hope you find some good answers from your midwife! YES, I think I def. have that! (No, not really… but it would give me a good reason not to plank) wink wink!
Love, Traci Michele
Mutusystem is the best out there that I’ve found. I LOVE IT! And there is so much practical application on the site when you are a member. She offers really good periodic discounts on her membership, too. I got mine for over %40 off last year.
Plus you become a member for life and have access to everything without any extra cost or monthly fees. I highly recommend it. It definitely changed the way I think about exercise (much more walking and simple lifting) and eating. I hope you find the help you need!
Oh and there’s an eating plan you can download as a member, too.
I’m pregnant with #5 now, and even after my triplets {pregnancy #2} I never noticed a separation. This time I definitely plan on being a bit more proactive about getting my abs checked out after delivery.
oh no! 🙁 sorry. I have 4 kiddos and got this while pregnant with the last one. I was kinda freaking out about it– it was 3 fingers wide, so a pretty decent size gap! The baby is now just turning 2, and the gap has pretty much closed, without me doing anything other than running and ordinary chasing kids around activity. My midwife told me to give it a couple years to see if it went away on its own- and it did! so, i’m not sure how old your youngest is, but, no worries- there is good hope that it’ll just fix itself if its not too bad. 🙂
I think the exercises may help some people. After 4 children by c-section the only thing I can do is to have a tummy tuck. They stitch those muscles together. From what I understand this is the only way to close totally together.
Jessica, I had this with about 4 inches separation after I had twins. They weighed 5.8 and 5.14. Of course I also had a lot of sagging skin. I weighed about 106 pre pregnancy and 108 after c-section delivery. I lived with it for about 12 years until I needed a hysterectomy. At that time I had a “tummy tuck” and the repair done by a plastic surgeon. He tag teamed with my GYN. The fortunate thing was that insurance paid for the repair and hospital. With 3 little kids we borrowed the plastic surgeon fees. I have no regrets. Talk to your doctor. I would not believe it could repair on its own (depending on the severity). While Ezra is nursing, this of course is not a good time. But back support and overall feeling and looks is the great benefit. I will not be the first to agree that you are worth it! Love to you! 🙂
I had this after my first, then it got worse with my second….and then it was much worse with my third. After a year and a half it was still three fingers wide at about an inch above my belly button. I started doing pelvic floor exercises that I found on youtube for a couple of months then moved on to PiYo that I had borrowed from a friend (the modified moves). After 4 weeks of PiYo my diastasis recti reduced to only 1 finger width! I was not expecting that at all. After it started closing up I noticed that I had much less back pain. I’m assuming it’s because my core is stronger than it was. Now I just need to get rid of this squishy tummy that doesn’t want to go away.
My youngest is ten months old-he’s my fourth baby-and after giving birth to him right away I knew something wasn’t right. Due to the severity of mine my doctor and a very conservative general surgeon agree that I need surgery to repair it. I also have two hernias as a result. So once I stop nursing my baby and am ready for the surgery I’ll be having all of the above repaired. Hopefully yours isn’t too severe and maybe these other suggestions will work for you.
Check out Fit 2 Be! She has great diastasis info, and tummy-safe workouts!!
Yes! I definitely got it after my first baby and am currently pregnant. Since my abs are already separated I have an umbilical hernia, too. I took things very slow when working out after baby #1, and eventually (I’m talking months to a year) I wasn’t able to feel my ‘valley’. However after I deliver baby #2 I’m getting a Belly Bandit, so hopefully it will help my insides get back into place quicker!
Fit 2 B has a lot of information about diastasis recti. With exercises I learned on their site I was able to close the gap in my abs.
They have a great free workout here:
http://fit2b.us/ts-totally-transverse/
Anyway, I hope that works for you!
Oh, I meant to say, I hope you find something that works for you personally.
I know it can take a while to find the right muscles again and I think that there are probably several places to find similar information like the Mutu System and Tupler Technique.
But I just like Bethany at Fit 2 B and her information and exercise worked for me.
So anyway now I am rambling, but I really do hope you find something that lets you reconnect with your physical core strength.
I also have diastasis recti after two c sections. It was very obvious throughout my second pregnancy. I read that crunches were the worst thing you could do for this, but planks would strengthen the abdominal muscles. I still don’t know exactly what would help to bring them together. Would love to hear what suggestions you find!
I wish I could blame my tummy on the kids too (they totally destroyed my bladder…which I just got fixed after 8 years) but the tummy was there before they were twinkles in my eyes
Hi there, sweet Jessica! I just happened to hop over from Money Saving Mom this evening. I’ve never read your blog before, but figured I should at least check it out since Crystal had such wonderful things to say about you. 🙂 Ironically, I have diastasis recti. Unfortunately, I haven’t done much about my condition. It happened as a result of my first pregnancy. I was able to take physical therapy for it (Tupler technique), and that helped get me from a five-finger separation to a one-finger. However, I went on to have my second child, and things just went downhill from there. I just haven’t been in a place where I’ve been ready to tackle it again…until now! Kind of like you, I’m ready to get my sexy back. Ha! But anyway…I just wanted to let you know about this e-book, which I actually happened to win as part of a bundle from Crystal. It’s called Belly Lovin’ by Danielle Baethge. It was very informative. She outlines three options and tells her story. Might be something you would want to read! Anyway…between that book and your post, I’m just encouraged to see the subject being broached. Thanks for getting the conversation started! 🙂
I’ve heard lots of good reviews for fit2be. Kindredgrace.com has a discount code for it.
If you go to http://www.raisingarrows.net she does a series on Diastasis Recti.
After my third child was born (third c-section) my hubby checked for me, and I had a 6-7 finger gap. I did some of the exercises from Fit2b. I have read that some of the gap can heal in the first year after giving birth. My hubby’s cousin, a physical therapist, recommended a version of a crunch. I take a sheet, and wrap it around my tummy, crossing it at the belly button, and pulling it tight. Breathing out I lift my head towards my chest without lifting my shoulders off the ground (knees are up). I do three sets of ten crunches. This takes less than 2 minutes. I try to do this every night, but I haven’t been as good lately. Last time I checked I had a two finger gap. I think Pinterest has a picture of this exercise. I hope you find a solution that works well for you.
I have a different point of view than most of the other commenters…
I LOVED my midwife for my most recent pregnancy, and truly found her medical wisdom spot-on. She was on the natural side (like you’d expect at a birth center) but still very “medical” – works at a hospital under an OBGYN.
I asked her if I had a diastis, and she checked and said yes. But then I asked what it meant, and she said nothing. I asked if I should avoid crunches or anything, and she said no. It wasn’t a big deal – just something that happens to some women.
I haven’t done crunches since then, but not because of any concerns over the diastis… just because I’m lazy. 😉
Lindsay Brinn with Moms into Fitness has a great YouTube channel and exercises that focus on correcting this. I have been working on them myself =)
I had my twins alomst 13 years ago. I was alomst 300 lbs when I got pregnant, and due to a prescribed diet and the twins eating me out of house and home I lost alomst 75# during my pregnancy. With the return to work and a move across country the weight came back on and within 5 years I had developed an incisional hernia at the site of my c-section scar. A section of my fat belly had gotten through the hernia and essentially died, causing me to become ill and require repair of that hernia urgently. I healed pretty well and things were going well for a few years and then another section of the incision herniated. At this point, my surgeon decided that the best way to stop this from continuing was to not only repair the hernia but also to remove the tension on the scar by removing my abdominal pannus (overhang). I ended up with a full panniculectomy and a new scar from one hip to the other. Unfortunately, my insurance company would not cover the abdominoplasty to relocate my belly button, so now that sits just at my pubic bone. It took three trips back to the operating room that summer of 2008 to completely close the wound and stop the infection and 90 days before I was free of wound vacs and dressing changes. Approximately 3 months later I went back for a f/u and complained about a bulge i felt in my abdomen, my surgeon stated I had developed diastasis and to keep an eye on it, but that nothing could be done. Now 4 years later, my diastasis is the size of a cantaloupe and I found this program.I am truly hopeful that your program can work for me, but I am leary given the surgeries that I have undergone. Are there any special considerations I need to undertake given the altered stated of my body?
I have no idea. You would need to talk with your doctor. So sorry you have undergone so much.