Rectifying mis-information on Diastasis Recti

Diastasis has become a hot topic among pregnant and postpartum women over the last couple years, snowballing into a major concern for women.

Diastasis Rectus-Abdominus (DRA) is the separation of the left and right sides of the rectus abdominis, at the linea alba, which is the connective tissue of your abdominal muscles, right around your belly button.

This heightened awareness is a good thing, because it sheds light on a completely normal part of pregnancy. On the flip side, DRA has become a pregnancy bogeyman that has many women concerned. Some women would go as far as feeling broken if they had any gap between their rectus abdominus.

Let me start by saying that DRA is normal. During the third trimester of pregnancy, 100% of women will experience varying degrees of DRA. Studies have shown that by 35 weeks, 100% of pregnant women will have varying degrees of DRA.

Don’t panic. It happens in all pregnancies because it’s our body's way of adapting to a growing baby. There will be structural changes to your body, like the widening and expansion of your rib cage to account for the growing baby. Naturally, we will stretch across the entire circumference of the abdomen during pregnancy. 

 Now that we’ve established its normalcy, let’s talk about solutions.

My DRA will be different from the next woman’s and the timeline for healing will also vary. There is no “one-size-fits-all” rehab approach. If someone tries to sell you on an off-the-shelf program to “close your DRA”, run. Every woman is different, and you need a solution that is specific to your body.

Instead of worrying about muscles that will heal naturally on their own, the symptom that women should watch out for is coning or doming of their abdomen as a result of DRA during exercises that increase the intra-abdominal pressure, like planks, sit ups, or push-ups. Using breath in correlation to function and everyday movement is how we address these symptoms. Properly managing and preserving pressure management in your core is the first step to rebuilding.