The tummy just doesn’t want to go away after the birth. It took a few years until our author Nathalie Klüver finally had her diagnosis: diastasis recti. And now?
“Can you congratulate me?”: At some point I got tired of hearing this sentence. No, I wasn’t pregnant again. No, that wasn’t a fourth child rounding out my belly. It’s a so-called diastasis recti, which I’ve been carrying around with me since the birth of my now five-year-old daughter – as my gynecologist found out during palpation.
This means that the straight abdominal muscle strands that had pushed apart during pregnancy to make room for the baby are still gaping apart. You try to close this gap again with abdominal muscle exercises – but that doesn’t even work for half of the women: Around 60 percent of all mothers therefore have a gap under their belly button long after the birth, which can often be felt with the fingers.
It’s not just about looks
A purely visual problem? Unfortunately not: Diastasis recti can destabilize the center of the body, lead to back and digestive problems as well as incontinence – and those affected often don’t know where these problems come from. The gap can extend from the pubic bone to the lower ribs and is usually most pronounced around the navel. It is best felt when lying down – if it is about two fingers wide it is called a diastasis recti. For me it was like this: I’ve always been petite and narrow – except for this soft stomach that not only bulged forward, but actually popped out. Of course, I learned in postnatal exercise that I should only train the oblique abdominal muscles after the birth. I did that too, but the gap still didn’t close. I kept practicing – but nothing happened.
The pelvic floor and the transverse abdominal muscle are a team
Katharina Ohm, postpartum trainer and diastasis recti consultant, explains to me why: “We now know that it’s not enough to just train the oblique abdominal muscles.” In order to give the middle stability again, tension is needed from all directions on the Linea Alba, the connective tissue seam that runs from the pubic bone to the tip of the sternum. In addition, the transversus must be trained, the large, transverse abdominal muscle, which is one of the deep, oblique abdominal muscles and supports the lumbar spine. I learn that an untrained transversus is the reason for the bulging tummy.
But: Roll-up exercises such as crunches, even if they are performed diagonally, unfortunately do not strengthen it – on the contrary. Especially with classic abdominal muscle exercises such as sit-ups and crunches, correct control of the deep core muscles must be practiced so that the resulting internal abdominal pressure does not seek out the pelvic floor as the weakest point.
Another construction site
This is the second weak point after pregnancy and I’m not in particularly good shape either. In any case, I gave up trampoline jumping after three children, and the coughing thing is always a thing (pee alarm!). Because it is like this: the pelvic floor and transversus work together – and this interaction is disturbed after pregnancy and should be trained again in the postpartum period with gentle tension and breathing exercises.
What I did wrong? Only trained the oblique abdominal muscles and started doing exercises like downward dog or plank way too early when the gap between the abdominal muscles wasn’t yet closed, according to the postpartum trainer. And jogging, which puts additional strain on the pelvic floor, wasn’t helpful either.
The gap in the stomach can be closed at any time
What I need most now: patience. Because I have to start all over again. The good news: You can work on diastasis recti at any time. An online course with Katharina Ohm helps me with this. The training begins with breathing exercises in which I learn to target the deep abdominal muscles – in connection with the pelvic floor. When sitting or lying down, I pull the pelvic floor up as I exhale, pulling the abdominal muscle strands together like a zipper. I practice every day between mountains of laundry and accompaniment to sleep, stop jogging and yoga and just concentrate on my transversus and the Linea Alba and how I control them through breathing and tensing.
It’s a bit boring at the beginning because I start with a lot of repetitions and little intensity in order to specifically build up the basic tension in my core muscles. Only when you can control it properly does the training become more intensive; exercises in the side position, while sitting and standing are added. The breathing exercises and the joint control of the pelvic floor and transverse muscles are integrated into exercises that I know from yoga and Pilates: shoulder bridge, side support, leg raises in the side lying position, abdominal muscle exercises without rolling up the head.
Things are moving forward
What motivates me is the success that comes after just two weeks: my stomach becomes noticeably flatter and my waist becomes tighter. After the ten weeks that Katharina Ohm’s intensive training lasted, the diastasis recti has not disappeared, but the gap, which is two fingers wide, has closed significantly more. I feel more stable in the middle, have fewer back problems and notice how my entire posture has straightened and tightened. “That’s why it’s also important for non-pregnant women and men not to forget the deep abdominal muscles when working out,” says Katharina Ohm, “because it’s precisely this transversus that gives you inner straightness and stability.”
Even more than a year after completing the course, the diastasis recti has not completely closed. But my stomach no longer pops out when I’m in the plank. And the gap isn’t bad, Katharina Ohm reassures me: tension and stability of the Linea Alba and functionality of the deep core muscles are crucial. But what I notice is that you have to stick with training. If I neglect my middle because of childhood infections or stress, I lose my inner stability – and hey presto, my little tummy is back immediately.
Intensive training offers e.g. B. Katharina Ohm in Lübeck and online (approx. 200 euros, katharina-ohm.de).