My Postpartum Enemy: Diastasis Recti (Part 2)

This is the story of how pregnancy split my abs apart and left me on an emotional roller coaster until I finally arrived at a solution. To read Part 1 of the story, click here.  

Picking up where Part 1 left off……    Baby #3 was born August 2013. I bought an abdominal splint to try and help heal my abdominal split more quickly, but it was so cumbersome, particularly with breastfeeding, that I gave up on using it after quite a short time.  I worked on ab exercises as best I could, considering I had a newborn plus two other small children (ages two and four), through the end of the year (about 4 months). Then it went out the window for a few months because I got pneumonia, we took an 11-day road trip, and I just got out of the routine. Plus…I was getting discouraged.

Finally got back on the wagon and went to a physical therapist in March 2014. (Baby #3 was seven months old.) Over the course of 2.5 weeks, I met with her three times, and I’m so glad I did...even though I don't think she had any experience with my condition. I showed her the exercises I had been doing and she had major corrections for me. She told me that when I was contracting my abs, they were pushing out rather than pulling in. “I’m not even sure how you’re doing that,” she said. We had to re-train my muscles to go the right way. It took a whole lot of mental effort to make that happen. Once we got that straight, she set me on a course for strengthening and toning all the muscles.  When I asked her about a time frame in which I could get the results I wanted (a nice flat stomach) she told me that the muscles would respond fairly quickly to the exercises, but the connective tissue takes much longer to heal. The connective tissue is what holds the two sides of the abs together and is a big part of the problem. Sadly, she said it would take 6-12 months for the connective tissue to heal. Bleh! Not what I wanted to hear, BUT at least that helped set realistic expectations for me so I wouldn’t work on it a few months and be once again discouraged and disappointed. 

So I kept at it for months and months and months. The roller coaster of emotions continued. Hope, then discouragement, then renewed hope, then more discouragement. Progress was ridiculously slow. I did see improvement, but nowhere near enough.  

When baby #3 turned two (August 2015), I finally decided to set up consultations with a couple surgeons to get an assessment of my abdomen and see about fixing the muscles surgically (getting them sewn back together). After talking with two different surgeons, I felt so validated and encouraged. They told me that my abs were still split and that no amount of exercise was going to bring them the rest of the way back together. I had done all I could do. They said I was really fit and the remaining pooch was just due to muscle damage. A little bit of extra skin, but mostly muscle damage. Oh…and I found out I had an umbilical hernia, which is why my belly button had turned into an outie instead of an innie.  

It ended up being a very emotionally healing experience just to talk to the surgeons. To finally talk to someone who knew what they were talking about and could tell me exactly what was going on with my abdomen, in contrast to all the people who just kept telling me I needed to eat less and exercise more to get rid of the pooch. When you’re working your butt off and people tell you you’re obviously not doing enough (or ask you if you’re pregnant), it’s very disheartening. I wondered what was wrong with me. Why I couldn’t fix it. I was working so hard.  

I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I decided to have the surgery. Though it would leave me with a hip-to-hip scar, it would be well worth it to finally be rid of the pooch, have my muscles back in the right place, and no longer look pregnant.  

To be clear, I'm sure many people can get great results on healing a small split by doing the right exercises. I made a lot of progress, but just couldn’t get all the way there. Surgery completed the process for me, but I’m not saying that surgery is for everyone.  

For Part 3 of the story, including before and after pics, click here.