Just how common is Diastasis Recti? The answer might surprise you

April 27, 2019

Hi all,

I regularly get emails from women saying they were not aware that Diastasis Recti was “a thing until they Googled it” so I thought I’d run some numbers for you. Just in case you felt you were the only one.

60% of all women have Diastasis Recti 6 weeks Post-Partum.

6 months post-partum 45% of women still have Diastasis Recti.

32% of women still have DR a year after giving birth.

Now what does that mean in real numbers?

There are approx. 4.75 million children born in the USA and UK every year. Before I get emails from people outside the US and UK; Yes, I know there are probably also children born in your country but I’m just running some easy numbers to illustrate a point.

Let’s say that 850.000 of those kids are twins which means that roughly 3.9million women give birth in the US and UK alone.

1.3 million of those will still have Diastasis Recti a full year later.

My thoughts exactly

I’m guessing that’s higher than you thought, right? It does make you wonder why Diastasis Recti isn’t discussed that much in women’s health discussions or during ante-natal classes. Or indeed why the NHS only briefly mentions it on their website.

Can you think of any other medical condition that affects 200.000 women in the UK alone every year that never gets mentioned in the media such as Woman’s hour or TheGuardian? Can you think of any condition that affects 1million women in the US for over a year that is not covered by your medical insurance? Answers on a postcard to your medical insurance.

Does Diastasis Recti heal by itself 12 months’ post-partum?

No. As I’ve written before, unfortunately, healing DR takes a bit of work.

It also takes a bit of time; There is no magic cure, it will require some effort and consistency in your approach to exercise. And you can not reasonably expect to fix something that you’ve been living with for over a year within a month.

So what can you do?

It’s very simple, but not necessarily easy.

1; Do the right exercises. Focus on your glutes, obliques, TVA and back muscles. Obviously all the exercises we stick in the HPNB session plans focus on the right muscles.

2; Exercise regularly. Just doing some exercises once a week does absolutely nothing. A short daily routine is of much more use than a weekly 1 hour long session. Our home routine only takes 7 minutes every day.

3; Eat right. Don’t eat foods that bloat (all the time). Foods that bloat one person don’t necessarily bloat someone else so be aware of which foods “irritate” you. This doesn’t mean you can never have pizza/bread etc. again or that “bread is bad for you”. But if your stomach is permanently bloated you’ll really struggle to tighten everything up. Eat well, have a nice nutritious diet and help your body heal.

4; Speak to your friends about it. If the media won’t cover it, your midwife barely acknowledges it and your doctor ignores it, it’s up to women themselves to make sure word gets out that this is a problem that CAN BE FIXED.

Obviously we’d be delighted if you sign up with us. With our 30 day free trial you get to see what it’s all about, and ask any question you might have and get it answered by someone who knows what they’re talking about and genuinely cares about helping you.