What Diastasis Recti REALLY is and What to Do About It.

Pregnancy brings so many incredible changes to a woman's body, and one of those is something called Diastasis Recti (DR). If you’ve heard the term before but aren’t quite sure what it means, or you’re wondering if you might have it, you're in the right place. Let's break it all down.

What is Diastasis Recti (DR)?

Diastasis Recti is a stretching of the linea alba, which is the center line of your frontal abs. As your belly stretches to accommodate your growing baby, your abdominal muscles naturally separate to make room — and that’s completely normal! This separation is supposed to happen during pregnancy.

Once your baby is born, the goal is for those muscles and connective tissue to gradually move back into place to help support your core again. When the separation remains and the tissue doesn't regain its tension, that's when it becomes known as Diastasis Recti.

Diastasis Recti can weaken your entire core system and lead to issues like low back pain, poor posture, and even pelvic floor dysfunction if not properly addressed.

How Common is Diastasis Recti?

The short answer: very common.

Studies suggest that about 50-60% of women experience some degree of DR after childbirth. You may be more likely to experience DR if:

You've had multiple pregnancies
You carried a larger baby (or multiples)
You weren't aware of how to properly modify core exercises during pregnancy
You're over the age of 35
You gained a significant amount of weight during pregnancy

What Causes Diastasis Recti?

DR is caused by too much intra-abdominal pressure — that's the internal pressure in your abdomen that pushes against the connective tissue. Several factors can contribute to this, including:

The natural pressure of a growing baby
Poor alignment and posture during pregnancy
Exercises that unintentionally strain the midline of your abs
Other risk factors like age, multiple pregnancies, and genetics

How to Test Yourself for Diastasis Recti

Curious if you have DR? Here's a simple self-check you can do at home:

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent (like you’re getting ready for a glute bridge).
Place your fingers just above your belly button.
Engage your pelvic floor muscles (imagine stopping the flow of urine), exhale, and lift your head slightly off the floor.
Feel for a gap between your abs — notice both the width and the depth.
Repeat the same test at your belly button and just below it. All three places.

If the gap is wider than two finger widths or feels very soft and deep, that may indicate Diastasis Recti.

Remember: it’s not just about the width of the gap — how well the connective tissue holds tension is just as important.

Healing and Strengthening Your Core

Diastasis Recti is a natural part of many pregnancies and, for most women, with time, support, and the right exercises, healing is absolutely possible... even if it has been years since you had your babies!

If you are pregnant or planning on getting pregnant soon, here are a few things you can do to help minimize DR and also intra-abdominal pressure on that midline:

-Avoid frontal core exercises or exercises that cause "coning" or bulging to the midline.

-Avoid frontal core exercises: anything that causes extra intra abdominal pressure is not going to help! Think: regular push-ups, crunches, sit-ups, planks etc.

-Working on correct posture when standing, sitting, moving, and transitioning from lying to standing position (use that bed roll!)

-Learning core breathwork and practicing it throughout pregnancy

-Avoiding exercises that will put additional pressure on your pelvic floor, especially through third trimester.

The Wilma app has pregnancy-specific guides for home and/or gym to safely guide you through and help you to feel your strongest through pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery. It's what we specialize in and what we're passionate about! We have all the resources right in the Wilma App, ready for you to begin! Click here to sign up.