Diastasis repair covered under the NHS?

[BlondieMum01]

Has anyone had a pregnancy related diastasis repaired under the NHS? Under what circumstances will they/won't they cover this surgery?
Thanks for any info.

Can do in some cases, particularly if you have a herniating bowel.

It will no doubt depend on your local nhs trust and what their policies are.

If your have a full or partial bowel hernia, I am pretty sure it is covered without too much of a fuss. Main problem is getting GP to recognise and assess your diastisis properly.

I have heard of instances where they would repair a minor diastisis (small repair thru belly button) as a "cosmetic" procedure but few and far between.

And they would need to be absolutely sure that you were done with having children.

I think they would also want you to see a physio first and spend some time doing an exercise programme to close the gap as much as possible first. A lot of people end up not needing a repair as the gap is more or less closed with the right exercises.

fwiw, I had an 8 finger diastisis after DD and with physio and exercises, I eventually got it down to about 1 finger. My GP failed to diagnose it (it was so large he missed it...) and I didn't get any proper help until I saw a private physio about 7 months after DD's birth. I had no idea what the problem was until I found Mumsnet (thanks to all the others on here who post about diastisis).

But once I got going with physio, it only took another 6 months to get from a massive gaping hole in my stomach muscles (and an unattractive pregnant look!) to normal.

Also adding that once I stopped BFing some of it tightened up quite a bit naturally.

How bad is/was yours??

Have you recently had a DC??

Also worth mentioning what my physio told me about the two main types of repair.

The major type is quite an ordeal. You're cut across bikini line (like a c section or a tummy tuck), they then pull and seperate all your skin from muscle/tissue underneath and pull it all the way up to your breastbone. And then the using either metal mesh and staples or stitches repair your abs.
Minor repair is done thru the belly button so a tiny cut and they will use a metal mesh and stitches to hold your abs together.

That was my incentive to stick with the exercise...

Am now pregnant again and will no doubt have another massive seperation after giving birth. At least this time I know where to start with it.

I've had two C-Sections, and my diastasis is 6-7cm at the bellybutton and extends ull the way to the ribcage (although narrower towards the top).

in the case i think you could qualify. have you tried any physio yet?

do you feel that either of your cs weakend your muscles as well? i had emcs and felt it certainly delayed recovery of stomach muscles quite a bit.

i had the bowel hernia thing and it did have pain from it, particularly at night when rolling onto my side and the abs muscle would sort flap down and trap/pinch my bowel between them-ouch.

if this is happening to you and causing you pain try and see your gp. i am sure in those circumstances they would refer you for a repair. although they may insist you try physio first.