Diastasis Recti: Healing Your Core After Birth

If you're a few weeks or months past delivery and you've noticed a soft gap, a ridge, or a cone-shaped doming down the middle of your belly when you sit up, cough, or pick up your baby's car seat, you're likely feeling something very common: diastasis recti. This is the medical name for a separation of the two long muscles that run down the front of your abdomen — a separation that happens gradually as your uterus grows during pregnancy, and one that doesn't always close back up on its own after birth. It isn't a flaw in your body, and it isn't something you did wrong. It's one of the most common, least-explained parts of postpartum recovery, and understanding what's actually going on underneath is the first step toward supporting your body through it.

What Is Diastasis Recti, Exactly?

Diastasis recti (sometimes shortened to DR, or called abdominal separation) is a widening of the gap at the linea alba — the band of connective tissue running down the midline of your abdomen that connects the left and right sides of your rectus abdominis, the "six-pack" muscle. As your growing uterus stretches your abdominal wall forward during pregnancy, that connective tissue naturally thins and widens to make room. Some degree of separation is a normal, expected part of carrying a baby to term. In the months after birth, the gap narrows back down for many people; for others, it stays wider, and the connective tissue in between stays a little softer and less supportive than it was before pregnancy. That's what most people mean when they say they "have diastasis recti" postpartum.

How to Check for Diastasis Recti at Home

A simple self-check can give you a general sense of what's going on, though it isn't a substitute for a hands-on evaluation from a provider trained to assess it:

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Relax your abdomen, then place two or three fingers just above your belly button, right along the midline.
• Gently lift your head and shoulders a few inches off the floor, as if starting a small crunch, and let your fingertips sink gently into your midline.
• Notice how many finger-widths seem to fit into the gap, and whether you feel a firm, springy resistance (the connective tissue doing its job) or more of a soft, deep give.
• Repeat the check at your belly button and a couple of inches above and below it, since the gap can be wider in one spot than another.

A gap of roughly one to two finger-widths is common and often considered within a typical range. A wider gap, or one that feels very soft with little tension underneath, is worth having a provider take a closer look at in person.

Why Diastasis Recti Happens

Diastasis recti is driven mostly by the physical demands of growing a baby, not by anything you could have prevented:

• A growing uterus gradually stretches the abdominal wall forward over many months, which widens the connective tissue at the midline.
• Pregnancy hormones, like relaxin, soften connective tissue throughout the body to help it stretch — including the linea alba.
• Carrying multiples, a larger baby, or more than one pregnancy tends to place additional stretch on the midline.
• Posture and how the deep core and pelvic floor were working before and during pregnancy can also play a role in how much support that connective tissue has to work with.

None of this means your body did anything wrong. A stretching, thinning midline is simply part of how the body makes room for a baby.

Is Diastasis Recti Dangerous? When to Reach Out for Help

For most people, diastasis recti on its own isn't an emergency — it's a common postpartum change, not a medical crisis. That said, a few signs are worth a prompt conversation with your OB, midwife, or a pelvic floor physical therapist rather than waiting to see if they settle on their own:

• A bulge that looks like it could be a hernia, especially one that doesn't soften when you lie down, or one that's painful to the touch.
• Doming or coning along your midline that's severe, or that comes with sharp or worsening abdominal pain.
• Ongoing pelvic floor symptoms alongside the separation — leaking, a sense of heaviness, or pelvic pain.
• Persistent postpartum back pain or a feeling that your core just isn't supporting you the way it used to, especially with everyday lifting and carrying.

A pelvic floor physical therapist or your OB can properly assess the width and depth of the gap — often with a simple hands-on exam or ultrasound — and help you understand what's appropriate for your specific body.

Diastasis recti isn't only about the midline itself — it's connected to the pelvis, the low back, and how your whole core system is working together after birth. Our team at Little Roots looks at the postpartum body as a connected system: how your pelvis and spine are aligned, how well your nervous system is communicating with the muscles that stabilize your core, and how your posture has shifted through pregnancy, delivery, and now the day-to-day demands of holding, feeding, and lifting a baby.

Gentle, Torque Release Technique-based prenatal and postpartum chiropractic care may help support better alignment and nervous-system function as your body reorganizes after birth. This is meant as a complementary piece alongside — never a replacement for — core-safe movement guidance from a pelvic floor physical therapist, who is trained specifically to assess and guide recovery of the deep core and pelvic floor. Many of the same postural and pelvic changes that show up with diastasis recti also show up alongside pregnancy-related sciatica and other pelvic and low-back changes, which is why we look at the whole picture rather than one muscle group in isolation.

Core-Safe Movement to Support Your Recovery

A few gentle principles that many pelvic floor specialists recommend as you rebuild core support:

• Breathe before you brace. Slow, diaphragmatic breathing that lets your belly expand helps re-train the deep core muscles that support your midline.
• Avoid straining or holding your breath during lifting, coughing, or bowel movements when possible — exhale through effort instead.
• Skip traditional crunches and sit-ups in favor of gentler core-engagement exercises, at least while you're still assessing your midline.
• Mind your everyday mechanics — rolling to your side before sitting up in bed, and hinging at the hips rather than rounding through your midline when lifting your baby or a car seat.
• Work with a pelvic floor physical therapist if you want a personalized, hands-on plan for rebuilding core strength and closing the gap where possible.

Also worth reading if pregnancy-related aches followed you into postpartum life: Pregnancy Back Pain Relief and Round Ligament Pain in Pregnancy cover related ways your body shifts and settles around this same time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is diastasis recti? Diastasis recti is a separation of the two sides of the rectus abdominis, the muscle that runs down the front of your abdomen, at the connective tissue along your midline. It's a common, expected result of pregnancy stretching the abdominal wall.

How do I know if I have diastasis recti? The simplest way to check is the finger-width self-test described above — lying on your back, engaging your abdomen slightly, and feeling for the width and tension of the gap along your midline. A provider can also assess it more precisely by hand or with imaging.

Does diastasis recti hurt? Diastasis recti itself isn't always painful, though some people notice low back pain, pelvic discomfort, or a feeling that their core isn't supporting them well, especially with lifting or twisting. Pain that's sharp, severe, or getting worse is worth having evaluated.

Is diastasis recti dangerous? In most cases, no — it's a common postpartum change rather than a medical emergency. It's worth prompt medical attention if you notice a hernia-like bulge, severe doming, or significant pain, since those can occasionally point to something that needs a closer look.

Can diastasis recti be fixed? For many people, the gap narrows over time with core-safe movement and guidance from a pelvic floor physical therapist, though how much it changes varies from person to person and body to body. Gentle postpartum chiropractic care may support the alignment and nervous-system piece of that picture alongside movement-based rehab, rather than as a stand-alone approach.

If you're noticing a gap, doming, or a core that just doesn't feel like it's supporting you the way it used to, you don't have to sort it out on your own. Schedule a complimentary consultation with our team at Little Roots Pediatric Chiropractic in Lakewood Ranch, and let's take a gentle look at how your pelvis, spine, and core are working together as you recover.