Do I have diastasis? A quick self-check

Diastasis recti: how to check it safely and what comes next

Diastasis recti is a separation of the abdominal muscles down the midline, along the band of connective tissue called the linea alba. It is very common during pregnancy and after birth. By the end of pregnancy almost every woman has some degree of it, because this is the normal way the body makes room for the baby. This questionnaire is a quick self-check to help you understand where you are and what the next step is. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace an examination.

1. 01

   What diastasis recti actually is

   The rectus abdominis is made of two halves joined by the linea alba, a band of connective tissue running down the middle of your abdomen. During pregnancy, hormones and rising internal pressure soften and stretch that tissue, so the two halves move apart. It is not an injury and not a sign you did anything wrong. It becomes a problem only if the tissue stays slack and the abdominal wall cannot manage pressure, because the trunk then loses stability. That is usually felt as lower back pain or a sense of weakness through the middle.

2. 02

   How to check for diastasis properly

   Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place the fingers of one hand across the midline of your abdomen, just above the navel. Tuck your chin towards your chest and lift your head and shoulders slightly, just enough to feel the abdominal muscles engage. Feel for the gap between the two sides and estimate how many fingers fit. Repeat at the navel and a few centimetres below it, because the gap is not the same along its whole length. Alongside the width, pay attention to two more things: how firm the tissue feels under your fingers when you engage, and whether the midline bulges outward. Check yourself relaxed and without holding your breath, because bracing changes the result.

3. 03

   What the gap really means

   Width is the best known measurement but not the most important one. Current practice looks equally at tissue quality, meaning whether the linea alba can generate tension when the abdomen engages. A woman with a three finger gap and firm tissue often functions better than a woman with a two finger gap and a completely slack midline. The second important sign is doming: if the midline rises like a ridge under effort, pressure is pushing outward instead of being distributed. That is a skill that can be retrained, not a permanent state.

4. 04

   How common it is and whether it resolves on its own

   Almost all women have some degree of diastasis in the third trimester. After birth the gap narrows spontaneously in most cases, most of it within the first eight weeks, and the process continues for months. Studies following women to twelve months postpartum find that roughly a third still have a measurable diastasis. That sounds alarming, but a measurable diastasis is not the same as a problem, because many of those women have no symptoms at all. This is why the decision about whether to do anything is based on function and symptoms rather than the finger count alone.

5. 05

   What to avoid

   Early on, avoid exercises that push pressure forward before you have learned to control it. That means traditional crunches, lifting both legs from lying, planks if the midline domes, and lifting heavy loads while holding your breath. None of these is banned forever. It is a question of sequence, and most of them return to the programme later, once the tissue can hold tension and breathing and the deep core work together. It also helps to watch everyday movements: rolling to your side to get out of bed, rather than sitting straight up, removes a lot of unnecessary pressure.

6. 06

   What helps

   Recovery is built through sequence, not intensity. The first step is breathing, coordinating the inhale and exhale with the diaphragm and pelvic floor, because together with the abdominal wall they form one system. The second is learning to engage the deeper abdominal layer without the midline doming. The third is progressive loading in positions your abdomen can handle without doming: lying first, then four point kneeling, then standing, and only then with external load. Progress is measured by the tissue holding tension and the doming being gone, not by how quickly you move to harder exercises.

7. 07

   When to see a doctor

   See a doctor or a pelvic floor physiotherapist if you notice a bulge along the midline that stays when you are relaxed, or that is painful to touch, because that can be a hernia rather than a diastasis. The same applies if you have severe or persistent abdominal or lower back pain, urinary leakage, a feeling of pressure or heaviness in the pelvis, or if the gap is widening rather than narrowing. This questionnaire cannot detect a hernia and is not a substitute for an examination.

8. 08

   How a kinesiologist helps

   A kinesiologist experienced in postpartum training first goes through your results and symptoms, rules out red flags and refers you on where needed. They then build a programme that starts from what your abdomen can currently handle and progresses only once the doming is gone and the tissue holds tension. The main difference from generic exercises found online is that the programme changes according to how your body responds, week by week.