Diastasis Recti During Pregnancy: What You Need to Know
What is diastasis recti?
Diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) is when the two columns of abdominal muscles move apart during pregnancy. Between them sits a band of connective tissue called the linea alba, which stretches as your uterus grows and your muscles move outward to make room for your baby. For most women this is a normal part of pregnancy, not an injury.
That said, for some women diastasis does become a clinical problem that needs attention. The difference lies not in the size of the gap but in how the abdominal wall is functioning, and that is something a measurement alone cannot tell you.
Why the numbers are hard to interpret
You may have read statistics about how common diastasis is during pregnancy. These figures vary widely, from around 33% at 21 weeks to between 70% and 100% in the third trimester. This variation is not because different women are being studied. It is because there is no universally agreed definition of what counts as a clinically significant diastasis.
Studies use different measurement thresholds, different tools, and measure at different points along the linea alba. A woman classified as having diastasis by one clinician may not meet the criteria used by another. This makes the research genuinely difficult to interpret and means the statistics you read online may not be comparing the same thing at all.
What this means practically is that a gap measurement on its own tells you very little. Research has found no consistent relationship between the size of the separation and abdominal muscle strength, back pain, or pelvic girdle pain. Two women with identical measurements can have very different levels of function. Width is not the same as function, and function is what matters clinically.
Why diastasis happens, and why it matters that it does
The pressure of your growing baby has to go somewhere. As the uterus expands, the abdominal wall needs to accommodate that pressure. The linea alba stretching and the rectus muscles moving outward is one way the body manages this, and it is a protective response.
The alternatives are not better. The diaphragm is already under significant extra strain during pregnancy as the uterus pushes upward and breathing mechanics change. The pelvic floor is also adapting to carry the increasing load of pregnancy. Increased pressure moving into either of these structures creates its own problems.
Understanding diastasis this way changes how we should think about it. The body is not failing. It is redistributing load intelligently. The goal during pregnancy is to support that process, not to fight it.
What this means for exercise
Exercise during pregnancy is important and beneficial. The goal is not to avoid movement but to choose and modify exercises that support the abdominal wall as your pregnancy progresses. There is no evidence that any single exercise consistently prevents diastasis, and given that separation is a normal physiological adaptation for most women, prevention is not the right goal anyway.
WHEN’s Exercise and Pregnancy Guidelines, developed with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians across obstetrics, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, podiatry, and continence nursing, provide evidence-based guidance on exercise throughout pregnancy. Exercise & Pregnancy guidelines
For health professionals and those wanting the full clinical detail, WHEN has published a position statement on abdominal exercise and diastasis recti during pregnancy. Abdominal Exercise and Diastasis Recti During Pregnancy – WHEN
References
Cabral et al. (2025). Transversus abdominis and rectus abdominis activation exercises do not alter inter-recti distance in pregnant women: a randomised trial. Journal of Physiotherapy, 71, 254-259.
Theodorsen et al. (2024). Pregnant women may exercise both abdominal and pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy without increasing the diastasis recti abdominis: a randomised trial. Journal of Physiotherapy.
Skoura et al. (2024). Diastasis recti abdominis rehabilitation in the postpartum period: a scoping review. International Urogynecology Journal, 35, 491-520.
Gluppe et al. (2021). What is the evidence for abdominal and pelvic floor muscle training to treat diastasis recti abdominis postpartum? Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 25, 664-675.
Weber et al. (2024). Effectiveness of physiotherapy techniques for treating diastasis abdominis: a narrative systematic review. Proceedings of Scientific Research Universidad Anahuac.
Bixo et al. (2022). Association between inter-recti distance and impaired abdominal core function in post-partum women with diastasis recti abdominis. Journal of Abdominal Wall Surgery.
van de Water and Benjamin (2016). Measurement methods to assess diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscle. Manual Therapy, 21, 41-53.
Developed by the WHEN Clinical Team
Clinically reviewed by the WHEN Clinical Governance Committee
Last reviewed: 22/06/2026
With clinical input from Peta Titter, RN, Advanced Diploma of Pilates, continence nurse specialist. Honours research in diastasis recti. PhD candidate, University of Tasmania. Founder and CEO, WHEN.
