Diastasis Recti

DR- abdominal separation. Occurs to some extent in all full term pregnancies. The abdominal muscles have to separate in order to make room for the growing baby. The layer of fascia is stretched between the muscles.

It is important to manage pressure and limit any coning you see while pregnant in order to protect your abdominals and fascia as you will be at increased risk for hernia. Because of the increased intra-abdominal pressure this will show up in more every day simple tasks such as sitting up in bed, getting out of a deep couch or chair, or doing lying down abdominal workouts.

Actively, this can show up as coning or doming in a pregnant belly or postpartum. It also will feel like a separation postpartum. To assess lie on your back with your knees bent. Put two fingers at your belly button pressing down slightly and lift your head. Does it feel soft, deep, how wide is it? You can then bring your fingers up 2” toward your ribcage, and down 2” below your belly button toward your pelvic bone to assess how long it is. This can serve as means for progress to check your progression.

This can be assessed by a pelvic floor PT or there are multiple videos online and you can track your progress with a little help, it shouldn’t be checked more than weekly- it took 10 months for it to expand, it is going to take time for it to come back together.