Diastasis Recti Exercises in St Albans: Why Closing the Gap Isn’t the Goal

Diastasis Recti: Why Closing the Gap Isn’t the Goal

“I’ve still got a gap.” I hear it every week, often from women whose babies are now at school. Diastasis recti, the separation of your six-pack muscles down the midline of your tummy, causes a lot of worry. Much of that worry comes from one unhelpful idea: that the gap has to close.

It doesn’t. What matters is how well the tissue in the gap works.

What diastasis recti actually is

Your two strips of rectus abdominis are joined down the middle by a band of connective tissue called the linea alba. In pregnancy, hormones soften that tissue and your growing baby stretches it. Your waist can grow by around 50cm and the rectus muscles lengthen by around 20cm.
So separation is a normal, healthy adaptation. Research suggests it’s present in around 60% of women by the third trimester, and it can start as early as the second. It isn’t a failure and it isn’t damage. It’s your body making room.

Why some gaps don’t recover on their own

Pregnancy rarely causes a problematic diastasis alone. It tends to highlight what was already there:

• how you manage pressure inside your tummy when you lift, cough or strain
• breathing habits such as bracing, holding your breath or sucking in all day
• posture, especially ribs flaring forwards and a tucked-under pelvis
• previous pregnancies, a caesarean, or naturally bendy, hypermobile tissue

Diastasis and pelvic floor problems often travel together for exactly this reason. Both are signs that pressure isn’t being managed well.

How to check your own tummy

This video might help you to check it or follow the instructions below:

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat, one hand behind your head.
2. Place your fingertips just above your belly button, pointing down towards your pubic bone.
3. Breathe out and lift your head and shoulders a few centimetres.
4. Feel how many fingers fit in the gap, and whether the tissue feels soft and deep or firm and springy.
5. Repeat just below your belly button.

A two-finger gap is considered normal. More importantly, notice the quality. Tissue that gives you a little tension under your fingers is working well, even if there’s a gap. Tissue that feels like there’s nothing there needs more support.

One more tip: once you’ve checked, don’t check again for at least 6 weeks. Your tummy will vary with your cycle, your sleep and how much you’ve been carrying a toddler. Trust the process.

Release, realign, then restore

Most postnatal fitness tells you to strengthen your way back into shape. My approach to diastasis recti exercises in St Albans starts somewhere softer, because the tissue around your tummy is part of a whole-body system.

Release. When the front of your body has tightened to cope with pregnancy, through your chest, hip flexors and quads, the middle of your tummy can hang loose. Releasing those areas often changes how your abdominals feel before we’ve done a single strengthening exercise.

Realign. Ribs stacked over pelvis and weight even through your feet. When you’re aligned, your deep core can switch on without you forcing it.

Restore. Breath-led connection of the pelvic floor and deep abdominals first, then gradual strength. We sweep the waist in towards the midline and up, rather than pulling the belly button to the spine.

What to avoid while you heal

You don’t need to wrap yourself in cotton wool, but while your tissue is healing, avoid:

• sit-ups, crunches and loaded flexion where your tummy domes or bulges
• sitting straight up out of bed; roll onto your side first
• holding your breath when you lift
• deep twists and side stretches pushed past a comfortable range
• sucking your tummy in all day

If you see a ridge or dome down the middle of your tummy during an exercise, that’s your cue to make it easier.

What about binders and surgery?

Support garments can feel helpful in the early weeks. They don’t teach your muscles to work, though. If you’ve had surgical repair, the breathing and movement habits that contributed to the gap are still there, so this work matters just as much afterwards.

An umbilical hernia can sometimes sit alongside diastasis. If you notice a bulge at your belly button, see your GP.

Frequently asked questions

Can diastasis recti heal years after having a baby? Yes. I regularly work with women whose youngest is well past the baby stage and they still see big changes in function and in how their tummy looks and feels.

Is Pilates good for diastasis recti? Pilates done well, with a breath-first, pressure-aware approach, is one of the best things you can do. Generic classes heavy on crunches are not.

Do I need to see a physio? If your gap is wide, deep, painful or comes with pelvic floor symptoms, yes. A women’s health physio and I can work alongside each other.

Rebuild your core with support

My Postnatal and Every Mum Pilates classes in St Albans are built around this release, realign and restore approach, and I adapt every exercise to what your tummy is doing. Prefer to start one-to-one? Book a session in my St Albans studio.

Grace Lillywhite is a women’s health Pilates specialist and the founder of Centred Mums in St Albans. A former professional dancer, she has spent sixteen years helping women rebuild strength and confidence through pregnancy, the postnatal years and menopause. She specialises in pelvic floor health, prolapse, leaking and diastasis recti, and teaches in St Albans and online.