Every new mother wishes they could gain their body back after pregnancy. Growing a new human being inside you can be one of the most beautiful experiences, but the journey wasn’t easy.

Like every woman who came from the road of pregnancy, the postpartum belly becomes the bearing mark of the journey experience. With all the hardships, roller coaster of emotions and conditions that one needs to battle along the way, we have to choose between celebrating new life with our new body or desiring a flat tummy.

What Causes Diastasis Recti? Understanding How & Why It Happens

Almost every new mum aims to shed their weight as soon as they recover from birth. However, one might ask the supposed reason behind the divarication of recti? Why does your tummy appear that way after giving birth?

Almost anyone can experience the divarication of recti after giving birth. However, not all new mums can experience this problem. Diastasis recti are the separation of the abdominal muscles due to sustaining high pressure during pregnancy. The baby growing in the uterus causes the ‘push’ of the linea alba—the connective tissue between the abdominal muscles and wall.

The average weight for most newborns is 3.2 kilograms or 7 pounds. The abdominal muscle will have to accommodate such size by stretching itself with the connective tissue (linea alba), and even the small intestine can shift to make more room. Some may even look for treatment for urinary incontinence in Singapore since extreme cases can cause pelvic floor issues and bladder leakage.

Many still believe that the divarication of recti happens more on multiple gestations or having a large baby with a ‘smaller’ body frame. However, there is no definite study, and yet to be proven by future research.

The 2 Home Treatments You Need For Diastasis Recti

Sculpting your body and shedding a few extra baby weights takes a lot of effort. Nevertheless, every new mum can achieve a flat tummy, even a few months post-pregnancy. Nonetheless, a consistent diet and exercise routine are the ‘key’ players for resolving postpartum belly issues.

Your Diet Plan

One can’t avoid the stretching of the muscle, but the body works in marvellous ways by healing and repairing its damaged tissue by helping our body provide the essential nutrients it needs. Collagen acts as a protein and glue to your tendons, skin and connective tissue (in the linea alba), which is helpful for treating divarication of recti.

Picking up foods rich in vitamin A, C and zinc are excellent for boosting collagen production. Vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes and carrots, nuts, beans and seeds are great to add to your daily food palette.

Protein is another diet essential since it helps boost repairing damaged tissues—which is why you must add them to your daily meal. Fish, organic meat and eggs are the ideal food source for high-protein content. On the other hand, water serves to hydrate the tissues.

Avoid foods high in caffeine, sugar and processed foods if you’re aiming to treat your postpartum belly or undergoing recovery.

Your Exercise Plan

Exercising is the hallmark for improving your belly after giving birth. We all know that having a flat will take some time since we’ll have to target the abdominal muscle (ab) and not just plainly lose weight.

But when it comes to finding a suitable form of exercise, it’s often best to consult a doctor or physician first for a safer workout you can do in your current condition. Even if you’re in the phase of looking for postpartum care in Singapore, you’ll need guidance from professional practitioners to ensure that your recovery remains steadfast and unhindered.

After all, each of us has an ideal recovery period where we can put stress on our body without suffering from any ‘serious’ effects. Some exercises can further weaken the connective tissue, and some can worsen the separation of muscles. Therefore, before following and conducting any suggested home workout, consider making an appointment with a doctor first!

Exercising The Right Way

Healing diastasis recti is more than just doing any exercise you’ve seen on the Internet. Recovering from divarication of recti concerns restoring our body’s natural function—which is why we’ve included having a healthy diet plan to accelerate the healing.

However, you must understand that performing exercise will never close the gap between ad muscles to absolute zero. In fact, even before the separation, the gap was never really zero to begin with, and it’s normal to have a 2-4 cm between muscles after diastasis recti.

Without further ado, here are some of the most frequently recommended exercises for recovering from diastasis recti:

Kegels

If you’ve been to pelvic floor therapy, Kegels are the most common safe exercise you can do at home to reduce your postpartum belly or diastasis recti. Kegels can also provide relief for pelvic floor muscles and deep core.

Inhale/exhale

Perform inhales while relaxing your pelvic floor as you focus more on the lower part of your rib cage. The exhaling should contract the pelvic floor upwards.

Chair position

The chair position is ideal for building endurance to your deep core by lying on your back with a chair supporting your hips and knees at a 90-degree angle. It’s often best to perform this exercise after your inhale/exhale and Kegels instead of solely depending on your workout on momentum to treat postpartum belly.

Pelvic brace

The pelvic brace is another helpful exercise that helps your deep core by having your feet flat—your knees bent while lying on your back.

If you are looking for diastasis recti exercises or postnatal care services, visit Orchard Clinic for more info.