Pregnant and stomach muscles separated. Swimming ?!

[Tattybogle89]

Hello I had a two finger muscle gap in stomach muscles after my first. I'm 28wk with my second and have I think 4 finger gap. It's sore and my tummy in general is uncomfortable.
It cones when I sit stand etc and I don't know how to stop it getting worse.

I started swimming twice a week when pregnant this time and now I'm worried itl make it worse?
Was going to go tonight but googling it some places say swimming breast stroke makes it worse and some say it's fine.
Feel sad it's the only exercise I'm comfy doing .
Think it's called diastis recti . Spelling wrong though 😂
Help or experience appreciated

Can you get an appointment with a physio, get some exercises and ask them at the same time?

I'm not sure how long that process would take through the NHS really hadn't thought?

Bump

Wait until after pregnancy to work on it. Right now it's about making sure you roll to stand and don't lift anything heavy, you need to work on not making it worse rather than fixing it.

Ask for a physio referral via your Midwife, in my area they have a separate pathway for pregnancy related referrals. Standard wait for a physio appointment via the GP is 18 weeks (the timescale my GP told me when initially contacted her). My physio referral took 16 days from me posting the form to attending an appointment. I have 3cm diastasis recti and the beginnings of SPD and am now 22 weeks, problems started at 18 weeks but tried to manage myself and with private osteopath appointments for the first couple of weeks.

Definitely get yourself a referral to physio. It doesn't make sense to wait until after pregnancy when the problem has presented now.

@chipsahoy I think you have misunderstood, I'm definitely not trying to fix anything just now! Had simply found swimming enjoyable and don't want to keep going if it will make it worse.
I didn't realise midwives would do anything. I Had a small gap with first pregnancy and midwife didn't really say anything when I mentioned it. But it made my belly button pop out and never go back again.. just kinda hangs forward which is gross.
I'm not into fitness really so the thought that I will have a mess to fix after is a bit upsetting 😥

@fruitbadger thanks can I ask what sort of thing the physio did to diagnose and help? I have pain around my coccyx area too and have hypermobile joints I wonder if that's good enough reasons for a referral?

She asked me to do movements such as bending forwards and to either side, whilst watching my spine. Asked me about the pain I get, what makes it better / worse and examined me by getting me to lie on the couch and push against her with my leg whilst she held my hips in certain positions. I told her that I thought I had separation already and that it had started c10 weeks earlier than my last pregnancy. She diagnosed it as 3cm currently.

She gave me some exercises to work on for 2 weeks, mainly deep pelvic floor stuffs she thinks by strengthening that it will help to hold my pelvis together an alleviate the pain from the SPD. She made some recommendations about support belts and things I should / shouldn't be doing (eg pilates good, hoovering & shopping trollies bad) and made a follow up appointment which I'll go to next week.

Honestly, the exercises don't seem to be doing much but when you're in pain you'll do anything so I am trying and it is early days. I do agree that my core muscles are non existent following DS birth via section 2.5 years ago and the fact I've done absolutely nothing in terms of physical exercise to repair them since. I thought my pelvic floor was OK, but I'm not going to argue! The support belt (aka enormous bit of tubi grip she gave me) does seem to be helping little but the movements she had me doing in the appointment did leave me in more pain in the days after the appointment that I was before, albeit that that is still a significant improvement from when it was at its worst.

I'd you are genuinely experiencing pain and you think it could benefit from treatment the I don't think there's any harm at all I asking a professional to have a proper look.

Thanks @fruitbadger

I seen my midwife yesterday and asked her and she brushed it off ☹️ Simply smiled and said "nothing out can do until after the birth then you work the muscles back together.." I said what about physio? She said no not until after birth. Just roll when getting out of bed and that's all I can suggest. Didn't know what to say so left it here?