Abdominal seperation during pregnancy
9 Jun 2010

Abdominal separation during pregnancy

2 mins to read
Find out more about abdominal separation during pregnancy.


By Jen Dugard: In an earlier blog, I touched on a condition called Diastasis Recti which is also known as abdominal separation.  This condition is caused when the baby grows and your Rectus Abdominals (six pack muscles) have to separate in order to give it space and let your tummy expand.  The line of connective tissue between your two rectus abdominals stretches and weakens as you grow and can leave anything from a couple of fingers up to four or five fingers worth of ‘gap’ between your muscles.  We can’t really prevent this occurring as a baby has to grow and your tummy has no choice but to grow with it but there are certain things we can do while we are pregnant in order to reduce the risk and severity of abdominal separation:

  • Stop any ‘crunch’ or sit up type exercise – the bigger you get the more uncomfortable this would be anyway but it is important to stop doing your morning or evening sit-ups once you find out that you are pregnant.  Training the Rectus Abdominals makes them stronger and we need for them to relax a little so that they can separate if necessary and allow your baby to grow.  Often women who have had super strong rectus abdominals will get a larger separation as the muscles are less likely to want to stretch but are still forced apart.
  • Roll to your side to get up – any movement (including sit-ups) that causes you to leaver up from a lying position puts pressure on the inner abdominal wall which in turn puts pressure on the rectus abdominals and can force them apart more.  If you roll to your side then move up to sitting this will relieve the extra pressure.
  • Avoid backbends – for the same reason as above.  When you bend backwards a large amount of pressure is placed in the inner abdominal wall which in turn pushes against the rectus abdominals or outer abdominal wall potentially causing more separation.  Time to drop the backbends out of your yoga practice for a while.
  • Avoid too much twisting – your second and third layers of tummy muscles are known as your internal and external obliques.   These muscles are responsible for twisting our trunk and will also contribute towards pulling the rectus abdominals apart when activated.
  • Strengthen and maintain good Transverse Abdominal (TVA) strength.  The TVA muscles are the only ones that run horizontally and are the only muscles that can help you to rejoin your rectus abdominals postnatally.  Keep these babies in good condition and not only will you bounce back into shape more quickly but will be at less risk of lower back aches which are all too common in new mums.

Keep these points in mind when you are moving around and exercising during pregnancy.  The more you can do now to stay strong and keep in shape the easier it will be to bounce back afterwards and you may even be blessed with an easier birthing experience for your efforts.



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