{"id":35936,"date":"2020-01-05T08:35:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T08:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ismartnetwork.co.uk\/?p=35936"},"modified":"2020-01-05T08:35:03","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T08:35:03","slug":"diastasis-recti-is-very-common-and-goes-beyond-a-mom-pooch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ismartnetwork.co.uk\/?p=35936","title":{"rendered":"Diastasis Recti Is Very Common, And Goes Beyond A ‘Mom Pooch’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, actress Kate Hudson shared a video on her Instagram stories about wanting to “reconnect” her ab muscles. Fresh out of a workout, the mom of three exclaims<\/a>, “Did my workout. My abs. Arghhhh. Arghhh. Can’t get ‘em. Arghhh. It’s not working!” Then she adds: “still trying to reconnect, I guess.”<\/p>\n

All jokes aside, Hudson – who just had her third baby in October 2018 – is bringing up an actual medical condition that impacts the majority of women who’ve been pregnant: diastasis recti<\/a>, or the separation of the abdominal muscles.<\/p>\n

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View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n

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Attached to my hip \"🌸\"\"🧚‍♀️\"\"🌸\" #RaniRose<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Kate Hudson<\/a> (@katehudson) on Oct 23, 2019 at 5:16pm PDT<\/p>\n

You may have heard of diastasis recti before, usually in reference to the infamous “mommy tummy” or belly pooch so many of us postpartum mommies sport months or even years after having a baby. And while it’s no fun to continue to look pregnant even when you no longer are, it’s not just physical appearance that is an issue when you have a diastasis recti.<\/p>\n

And let me just add here that you are fucking beautiful not matter what your tummy looks like and that the pressure to “get your body back” after just having had a baby is some serious patriarchal bullshit.<\/p>\n

The fact is, diastasis recti affects the vast majority of new moms, physical therapist Marianne Ryan<\/a> tells Scary Mommy. It makes sense when you think about it: carrying a baby in your body is quite a load, and Ryan says that our connective tissue naturally loosens so that our bodies can accommodate the changes of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy of Marianne Ryan<\/p>\n

“Hormones that are produced during pregnancy cause the connective tissue (linea alba) that lies in between the ‘six-pack’ muscles (rectus abdominis) to become looser and more pliable and will make the muscles spread apart,” Ryan explains. “This is normal and needs to happen during pregnancy to allow the belly to accommodate the growing baby inside a mother’s belly.”<\/p>\n

For some women, says Ryan, the abdominal muscles naturally come back together on their own in few weeks or months. But for the majority – up to 40% — this is not the case. These mothers are not just left with a mommy tummy, but also a potential host of other health issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy of Marianne Ryan<\/p>\n

Personally, I can tell you that I had a diastasis recti after my second baby was born, and although it didn’t really bother me at first, as the years wore on and I got older, I began to develop all kinds of issues that I found out later were connected to my diastasis recti: back pain, leaking pee, and a lovely little condition called a rectal prolapse.<\/p>\n

Common conditions related to a diastasis recti include back pain, pelvic pain, leaking pee, fecal staining, bloating after meals, painful sex, pelvic organ prolapse, and constipation.<\/p>\n

Yep, says Ryan, all of these can be related to a diastasis recti. She says common conditions related to a diastasis recti include back pain, pelvic pain, leaking pee, fecal staining, bloating after meals, painful sex, pelvic organ prolapse, and constipation.<\/p>\n

Wow – I had no idea that bloating after meals (which only adds to the “pregnant look”) can be attributed to diastasis recti. But it most certainly can, according to Ryan: “Most people who have diastasis recti complain that they feel bloated and are frustrated when their belly bulges after eating a meal. So many moms with this condition complain that people ask them when they’re due when they are not even pregnant!”<\/p>\n

Been. There.<\/p>\n

Unsure about whether you have a diastasis or not? Here’s a video that help you determine that:<\/p>\n