My Tummy Muscles Feel Slack, Is This Normal?

If your tummy muscles feel very slack, it could be because pregnancy has over stretched them. If this is the case ,you may also notice a bulge developing on the front of your tummy, above and below your belly button.

The medical team for this over stretching is diastasis recti (DR). Diastasis simply means separation. There are four layers of muscle across your tummy ,the top layer is a pair of long ,flat muscles that run vertically down each side of your abdomen ( rectus abdominis) commonly known as the Six-Pack. DR happens wen the two halves pull away from each other ,stretching and thinning the connective tissues between them.

At least half of women experience DR after having a baby .It is more likely to happen if you.

• Have given birth more than once
• Had twins or more
• Have had more than one Cesarean birth
• Regularly strained your abdominal muscles during pregnancy through frequent heavy lifting ,straining on the toilet,or chronic coughing or vomiting.

There is not enough research to tell us whether being obese before pregnancy or gaining a lot of weight during pregnancy also makes DR more likely'.

It's likely that DR may run in families,so if your mother or sister has DR, you are more likely to develop it too.

If you are unsure whether you have DR ,here is how to check.

• Lie on your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor or bed.
• Place your palm down on your tummy,just below or above your belly button
• Life your shoulders off the floor slightly and look down at your stomach, with the tips of your finger, feel between the edges of the muscles ,both above and below your belly button.
• See how many fingers you can fit into the gap between the muscles. The numbers of finger widths is the size of your diastasis. 

Do the test regularly as your muscles get stronger, the gap should reduce. If the gap you feel is bigger than two finger widths , you may have DR.

The separation gap often returns to normal within the first eight weeks after giving birth, if the size of the gap has not decreased or you are worried about it, see your health visitor. She may be able to refer you to women's health physiotherapist who can give you specific exercises to help you,in some countries like mine ,Nigeria ,you may be able to refer yourself directly for Physio.

Leaving DR untreated is not harmful, but it may weaken your abdominal core. This can increase your chances of getting a bad back and will make exercise and other activities more difficult. I hope this publication was informative.