What should you know about 3 cm diastasis recti?

The measurement alone does not show how strong or functional your abdominal wall is. A clinician or pelvic-health physiotherapist can check the full midline, how the tissue responds to pressure and whether daily movement causes pain, weakness or doming.

Diastasis recti is widening and thinning of the linea alba, the connective tissue running between the two rectus abdominal muscles. Pregnancy commonly stretches this area as the uterus grows; it is not the same as a tear in the muscle.

Width may differ above, at and below the navel, and finger-width checks vary between examiners. Assessment is more useful when it also records tissue tension, breathing, trunk control, pelvic-floor symptoms and the tasks that trigger bulging.

Begin with comfortable breathing and controlled movements that let you manage abdominal pressure without breath-holding or a pronounced central ridge. Roll onto your side to rise from bed, exhale during effort and keep loads close to your body when lifting.

Exercise does not need to be avoided altogether. Choose a level at which you can maintain control, then build strength gradually. If sit-ups, planks or heavy lifting create repeated doming, pain or pelvic-floor pressure, modify them and seek a tailored postnatal physiotherapy assessment.

Book a non-urgent assessment if the separation persists after early postnatal recovery, limits exercise or childcare, or occurs with back pain, pelvic heaviness, urine leakage or difficulty controlling abdominal pressure. These details help shape rehabilitation.

Seek urgent care for sudden severe abdominal pain, vomiting with a tender lump, a bulge that becomes firm or discoloured, fainting, or inability to pass stool or gas. Those features are not explained by uncomplicated diastasis and may signal a hernia or another abdominal problem.

Ask where the gap is widest, whether the midline develops useful tension, which movements reveal doming and how to progress your current exercise routine. Mention future pregnancy plans, constipation, lifting demands, pelvic-floor symptoms and any lump that could represent a hernia.