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• Exercise and nutrition go hand-in-hand

I've been doing a lot of research lately about diastasis recti. This is a condition that affects about four in 10 women during pregnancy.

Diastasis occurs when the rectus abdominis (the top layer of abdominal muscle) separates creating a tear in the linea alba, the tissue that connects the rectus together.

There is a lot of conflicting information about why it happens, for example, weak abs, abs that are too tight or a small frame carrying a big baby. On the other hand, it is also common for women having multiples due to the over-stretching of the abdominal wall. Whatever the reason, diastasis should be monitored and addressed so that it does not get worse with subsequent pregnancies.

A true diastasis is present when the separation is at least two finger widths. You can check this by lying on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Slowly lift your head and shoulders off the floor and walk your fingers across your midsection just under your belly button. If you are far along in your pregnancy, you may see a cone shape protrude through the separation. If you are earlier along you will feel a dip with your fingers into the separation. Some women develop diastasis as early as 12 weeks gestation.

So what do you do?

Once you have determined there is a separation, you must try and do things that minimize or slow down the progression of it separating further.

Personally I like to suggest you focus on transverse abs (the deepest abdominal muscles) as these get stressed the most anyway during pregnancy. Some others encourage you to continue with your regular ab workout (which is perfectly safe to do during pregnancy), but modify the exercises in a way that help to pull the rectus together.

However, you should avoid oblique exercises (bicycles and twisting of the spine) as this can exacerbate the problem.

Here are some examples of exercise you can do.

Crunches: Wrap a towel around your waist and pull the sides together while performing the crunch. You can do the same using your hands the push the sides together.

Baby hugs. Sitting tall, pull your belly button in toward your spine while pulling your sides in. I do this a lot with women without the pulling anyway because it's great for your transverse.

Pelvic tilts: Lying on your back (first trimester only) with knees bent and feet flat, perform a pelvic tilt while pulling in your sides. After 16 weeks all back exercise should be done on an incline position.

Leg slides: Lying in the same above position, slide one leg out while pulling belly toward the floor, then alternate legs. This one is really good for post-partum particularly.

So there are some suggestions, but again, you need to do what's good for you. I also strongly suggest you confirm whether you have a diastasis with your doctor and if there are other associated problems. If diastasis goes untreated it most likely will get worse with your next pregnancy. If it gets really bad, you could potentially develop low back pain or worse, a hernia.

 

Samantha Montpetit-Huynh is the mother of two girls residing in the Danforth area. She is a certified personal trainer and holds certifications in pre- and post-natal fitness, nutrition and wellness and resist-a-ball. She offers in-home private and semi-private training and gives workshops on the subject. You can reach her at www.coreexpectations.com or by calling 647-897-5220.