Possible diastasis recti 8 months pp

[Wam90]

Hello, sorry if I’m not posting this in the right section - I wasn’t really sure where to add it!

I’m currently 8+ months postpartum and still very much looking like I did when I was 20 weeks pregnant. I have never been professionally checked for diastasis recti but pretty certain this is what I have from my own checking based on guidance I’ve found online.
My first question is has anyone got to this point and found that anything helps? I’ve been doing some exercises that I found online but have no idea if it’s helping and if I’m doing them right or enough. I would be quite keen for someone to actually feel it and tell me, firstly, how bad it is, and secondly if I’m beyond help because I’ve left it too long to sort out. Is this something a physiotherapist would be able to help me with or do I need to speak to the GP/ nurse practitioner first? I’m well aware of the NHS referrals being added to a very long waiting list so would be happy to privately source this support but didn’t want to look silly contacting someone about it this far down the line if there’s no hope.
Thank you in advance for any guidance.

I have this after the birth of dd2. I also had an umbilical hernia. NHS won't fix the DR, you would have to have it done privately if you want it fixed surgically. Apparently it can be fixed with exercise but I have heard it's quite tough to do and you need to be very committed to it (unlike me). Just be careful what exercises you do as there are many that can make it worse. I'm not sure a normal physio would be helpful (mine certainly wasn't).

I went for a couple of sessions with a women's physio first to make sure I was using the right muscles, then used the Every Mother app. You have to pay for it but I found it really effective, it's 10 mins every day plus additional workouts if you want to use them. Didn't start til I was 4 years postpartum and it still made a massive difference, my tummy's a lot flatter.

You’ll need to go private now. Nhs physio only sees you for a few weeks after birth ( hilarious as if you’re thinking of anything at that time!)
If you have a physio and have £70-£100 depending where you are- go. They should do a pelvic floor exam too
In the meantime, make sure and do NO abdominal work without YouTube/googling whether or not it will exacerbate DR. A lot of woman dont have a clue- and end up doing ab work thinking they’re helping when actually making it worse!
There should be exercises to strengthen
I’m 10 months PP and waiting on physio apt so I can see what’s going on.

It sounds like you need an assessment by a woman’s health physiotherapist. I’ve no first hand experience but have you tried this company?

www.themummymot.com/

I would recommend you see a private physio that specialises in women’s health. This is exactly what they can try and help you with.

Exercise really can help in a lot of situations but I think it helps to have someone reinforce what you are doing and give you the confidence with what exercise is ok for you. It can take a long time so you need patience, but two years on I finally felt “fixed”.

Also a personal trainer qualified and experienced in post natal can be great too. My BuggyFit trainer was amazing. I just needed someone to help me adapt workouts so I wasn’t doing more damage.

If you want to do anything online I would recommend BodyFit by Amy. She gives DR safe moves in all her workouts. Avoid Joe Wicks. As much as I like the guy, there is far too much core focused stuff that you should be avoiding!