After birth, you might notice a doming up or dropping down of the tissues along the centre of your tummy when you sit up, or a soft, almost jelly-like feeling along the midline when you press gently. You might feel a weakness in your tummy that was not there before, or sense that your core is not doing very much. These symptoms can be a sign of diastasis recti postpartum, the thinning and widening of the linea alba, which is the connective tissue between the rectus abdominus muscles, that run down the front of your tummy.2
What is diastasis recti?
As your baby grows during pregnancy, the connective tissues between your rectus abdominus muscles, thins and widens, allow the muscles to move apart, to allow more space for your growing baby. This means the muscles sit slightly further apart than they do outside of pregnancy. It is a completely natural part of pregnancy, shown to be present in 100% of women by 35 weeks. The most common way you notice this is a dome or bulge appearing when you use your core, like sitting up from lying down. At rest, the same area can feel soft or unsupported.13
How to check for a separation at home
A check at home is a useful way to get a sense of things, though it does not replace a proper assessment. To try it, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Only do this after 6-8 weeks postpartum, as there is natural healing that needs to occur before this point.5
Place two fingers at the base of your sternum (your breastbone) at the top of your tummy and feel down the centre of your tummy, all the way down to your pubic bone, to see how many fingers you can fit between the muscles. Then repeat this as you gently lift your head and shoulders slightly off the floor, as if beginning a small crunch.6
A gap wider than two fingers is generally seen as significant and may benefit from specific exercises or physiotherapy. The feel of the tissue underneath matters as much as the width. As you press gently, notice whether it feels firm and resistant or soft and deep. A little tension under your fingertips is a good sign your muscles are working. If anything you find leaves you unsure, talk it through with a healthcare professional.7
Movements to be mindful of in daily life
A simple guide helps here. If you can see or feel a dome rising along the centre of your tummy, the movement is best to adapt for now until you seek further guidance. Doming is not always bad, but you need to understand the best approach for your tummy recovery. 8
Getting out of bed is one of the movements you repeat most. If you roll onto your side first and push up with your arms, you put far less strain on the midline than sitting straight up. This may be helpful in your early postpartum recovery, but not something to do forever.9
When you lift your baby or anything else, bend your knees, keep your back straight, and gently draw in your deep core and pelvic floor before you lift. Skipping heavy lifting where you can helps in the early days, and good technique matters most for the everyday tasks you cannot avoid.10
Straining on the loo when you are constipated also pushes on the abdominal wall, so keeping constipation in check supports your recovery. If it keeps happening, your GP or midwife can advise.11
Breathing and gentle core work as a starting point
The first step in building core support is reconnecting with your deepest tummy muscle, the transversus abdominis (TA). It wraps around your middle like a natural corset and supports your spine and midline.12
Your TA works all the time, this exercise helps you reconnect with it and feel it working. Lie down comfortably, breathe in and let your tummy relax fully. As you breathe out, gently draw the lower part of your stomach in towards your spine, as if narrowing your waistline from the inside. Hold for a few seconds while breathing normally, then release. This should feel gentle and controlled, with no breath holding and no bearing down. If you feel any pain, stop and speak to a healthcare professional.13
Your pelvic floor and deep tummy muscles work together, so it helps to do pelvic floor exercises alongside gentle tummy work. A pelvic floor exercise means squeezing and lifting the muscles around your vagina and back passage, holding for a moment, then letting go fully.14
Why professional assessment matters before returning to exercise
A smaller separation often improves on its own with gentle work and careful movement. A larger one can take longer and may never fully resolve and tends to do better with guidance from a specialist. A women's health or pelvic health physiotherapist can check both the width and depth of the separation, give you an exercise programme suited to you, and look at other symptoms, like back pain or pelvic floor problems.15
Before you go back to higher-impact exercise like running, gym classes, or sport, a professional check helps you to know the best approach for your body so you get back to what you love quicker.16
Improving diastasis recti is rarely a straight line. Some weeks you feel stronger, others feel harder, and that variation is a normal part of the process. You can ask your GP for a referral to a physiotherapist at your postnatal check, or at any point if you are worried. Access and waiting times vary across the UK, and you are entitled to ask.17