37 wks and no muscle covering uterus! what does this mean?

[dizzy36]

this is my 2nd full term pregnancy. my consultant has told me that the muscle surrounding the uterus has completely gone and that I would have to do a lot of sit ups to get back in shape.

anyone else had this and did you manage to get back in shape? Will my tummy look really different after the birth because of this lack of muscle? how will it affect delivery?

apparently the reason it has happened because the muscle didn't knit together properly after my last birth which was 8 years ago, even tho I alwasy excercised. I know lots of women who don't exercise and this has never happened to them.

My bump has alwasy been very up front and low and I can only imagine that my lower stomach muscles couldn't handle it this time round.

Think it means the two deep mucles within tour abdomen has split completely (as mine did) and you may have a sticky out tummy for a while after PG. I am about to start pilates for this very reason.

I think they must mean your diastasis rectus thingy
everybody's stomach muscles separate during pg, some more than others and it can cause problems for some people after birth

sit ups are an absolute NO and make the problem worse so at your consultant
see a proper post natal physio or exercise trainer and do the correct exercises, it'll all be ok in the end

will return with links

exercise suggestions here

article on it here

my bump is quite small and high but an the front there is a 2-3 inch cap where i can feel what i assume to be muscles separated...is this to what you refer?

ewwww not sure i like it after reading those!

i think in answer to the op - they will go back and i think it is all par for the course...was the consultant making a throwaway comment or were you en to one for this problem?

I had polyhydramnios (excessive amniotic fluid - and i mean litres and litres!!) with my first pregnancy so my poor stomach muscles were about 300 miles apart after I gave birth. I didn't think my tummy would ever get back to normal. I had a course of physio which really helped as it did specific exercises to strengthen the key muscles that are very deep set. I still have a big gap at the top and am pregnant again so am also wondering what will become of the muscles.

A GP at my work did mention that there is an operation that you can have to pull the muscles back together (similar to a tummy tuck). It is actually recognised medical condition and on rare occasions your bowel can escape through the gap and herniate so I'm definitely considering having this operation if the physio doesn't help this time. Anyway, have lots of sympathy for anyone in this situation.

no-one mentioned until saw consultant last monday. she basically just said that can feel uterine wall which means muscle has seperated and would just mean would have to do lots of sit ups afterwards - her words.

It would explain why I have struggled to carry this bump (have had to wear a maternity belt since week 16 due to back problems) but not once have the midwives mentioned the lack of muscle when they have checked me.

I was doing pilates before pgncy and did yoga before that. I never noticed a problem with my tummy muscles, in fact my higher abs were alwasy pretty good, strugged with lower abs and never managed to tone up flabby bit.

I know I am being a bit vain but will it look worse this time round. I don't mind doing the work to get back in shape, the plank is a good exercise apparently.

According to consultant the muscle has completely seperated, is that important in getting it to go back afterwards. I have had a feel now and have noticed the lack of 'give' that you would normally find with muscle.

tummy not a pretty sight after delivery anyway, I dread to think what it will look like this time, am I overreacting and although not ideal is it also not a big deal???

it can be manageable with exercise and time, usually, I believe
one important thing is NOT to do sit ups - this really does make it worse
please see someone who knows what they are talking about after pg and get a proper exercise plan

Definitely don't do sit ups - not very good for anyone and will probably make your separation worse.

Also, don't panic - everyone gets a degree of 'separation', it's really normal. Usually it's not actually separation anyway, it's more like a total thinning of the fibrous tissue that joins the two vertical sections of the tummy muscles.

When you've had the baby and are feeling a bit more normal (!) then you should check to see how the tummy muscles are joining back together. Some HVs do this for you, but it's really easy to do it yourself. Can explain but don't want to teach grandmothers how to suck eggs and all that plus sometimes you just don't need any more info. Let me know. Also can explain lots of exercises which might help.....but, if you do have an abnormal separation you should be able to get help from a physio on the NHS.

Good luck with the birth!