Diastasis recti self-check
The two sides of the rectus abdominis stretch apart during pregnancy — in almost everyone. What matters after birth is how wide the gap is, how firm the tissue between the two sides feels, and whether a ridge appears when you sit up. Follow the five steps, then enter what you felt.
General information for education, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. Nothing you enter is stored. If something feels wrong, call your midwife, doctor or local emergency number.
How to check
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, tummy relaxed.
- Place the fingers of one hand across your midline just above your navel, fingertips pointing towards your feet.
- Breathe out and lift your head and shoulders slightly, as if starting a small crunch.
- Feel how many fingers fit between the two firm edges, and how far your fingers sink: do they sit on a trampoline, or drop in?
- Repeat about 5 cm above the navel and 5 cm below. Use the widest of the three.
How this works
The finger-width check is the one clinicians teach, with the two additions that research says matter more than width alone: how much tension the linea alba holds (depth) and whether it domes under load. Thresholds follow the common physiotherapy convention of two finger widths.
Common questions
How do I know if I have diastasis recti?
A gap of more than about two finger widths between the two sides of your abdominal muscles at or near the navel, felt when you lift your head from lying, or a ridge that appears along your midline when you sit up. Many people also notice a tummy that still looks pregnant months on.
Does diastasis recti heal on its own?
The gap narrows most in the first eight weeks and keeps improving for a year. Width is not the only thing that matters: tension across the midline often improves with the right exercise even when the gap stays.
What exercises should I avoid with diastasis recti?
Crunches, sit-ups, full planks, double leg lowers and anything that makes the midline dome, for now. Breathing with a gentle brace, heel slides and bent-knee fallouts are where most programmes start.
Sources
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