Category: Motherhood

Miscarriage can be a deeply traumatizing event, and the subject itself is often considered taboo. It’s a heartbreaking topic, and it’s so difficult that many people don’t learn about miscarriage in high school biology or sex ed lessons. Because of this stigma and silence, many of us aren’t well educated about miscarriage, what it looks like, or why it happens.
Ten to 25 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies—pregnancies in which a woman and her doctor know she is pregnant—end in miscarriage. That’s why it’s so important to educate ourselves about miscarriage. In the unfortunate event that we, or a loved one, lose a pregnancy, that education can help us navigate the difficult experience and find help and support.
Something few of us realize is that there are many different types of miscarriages. Miscarriage can occur for many different reasons, most of which are completely out of our hands, at different times throughout a pregnancy. To find out more, we spoke to OB-GYNs about miscarriage.

Chemical Pregnancy

Miscarriages in the first trimester of pregnancy are unfortunately very common. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that around 10 percent of recognized pregnancies end in first-trimester miscarriages. About 50 to 75 percent of these first-trimester pregnancy losses are chemical pregnancies, says Beth Davis, an OB-GYN at Baylor Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.
“A chemical pregnancy is a miscarriage that occurs very shortly after implantation or around the fifth week of gestation,” Davis says. “The majority of the patients do not experience [linkbuilder id=”6467″ text=”pregnancy symptoms”] during a chemical pregnancy because the pregnancy hormone hCG [human chorionic gonadotropin] is in very low levels,” she says.
Others might have a [linkbuilder id=”6470″ text=”positive pregnancy test”] but experience heavy bleeding and a negative pregnancy test soon after.

Blighted Ovum

According to the American Pregnancy Association, a blighted ovum could account for about half of all miscarriages in the first trimester, making it another common form of early pregnancy loss.
“Blighted ovum, also known as an anembryonic pregnancy, refers to a pregnancy with an empty gestational sac,” says Nichole Mahnert, an OB-GYN at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix. “At some point, very early in the pregnancy, the embryo stopped developing,” she explains. Mahnert says that it’s believed that a blighted ovum is caused by a chromosomal abnormality, which prohibits the development of the embryo.
Since one’s hCG levels will be high when they have a blighted ovum, they’ll probably receive a positive result on a pregnancy test. An ultrasound is thus necessary to confirm a blighted ovum.

Ectopic Pregnancy

When a pregnancy implants outside the uterus, it’s called an ectopic pregnancy. Most ectopic pregnancies occur in the fallopian tube, but it might also implant in or near the cervix, ovary, or at a prior cesarean section scar, says Davis.
Symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy often include vaginal bleeding with or without abdominal pain. “[The] vaginal bleeding may be light spotting or [a] heavier flow like a menstrual cycle,” she says. “Abdominal pain is usually localized to one side of the pelvis but may be diffuse and severe if the ectopic pregnancy ruptures.”
In the case of an ectopic pregnancy, treatment might include surgery or a medication called methotrexate, says Davis. If untreated, an ectopic pregnancy can be dangerous for the pregnant person, as the fallopian tube does not have enough space to accommodate a growing embryo.

Complete Miscarriage

“A complete miscarriage is when the miscarriage is confirmed and no products of conception are in the uterus any longer,” says Mahnert. In other words, all the tissues have been expelled from the uterus. Complete miscarriages are often accompanied by noticeable symptoms like cramping and bleeding.

Incomplete Miscarriage

Mahnert says that sometimes someone might experience miscarriage symptoms, like cramps or heavy bleeding, while some fetal tissue is still in the uterus. This is referred to as an incomplete miscarriage.

Missed Miscarriage

It’s possible to miscarry without experiencing any symptoms. A missed miscarriage occurs when there are no symptoms of miscarriage—such as cramps or bleeding—but a scan reveals that the fetus has no heartbeat, says Mahnert.

Stillbirth

According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the term miscarriage technically refers to any pregnancy ending on its own before 20 weeks of gestation.
After 20 weeks of gestation, a pregnancy loss is generally referred to as a stillbirth, although some people might refer to this as a miscarriage, too.
The American Pregnancy Association notes that there are numerous causes for stillbirths and not all of these causes are understood. Possible causes could include problems with the placenta, infections, birth defects, or growth restriction.

Aborting a Desired Pregnancy for Medical Reasons

Many people view abortion and miscarriage as two totally separate issues, with abortion being totally voluntary and miscarriage being totally involuntary.
However, in some circumstances, people might choose to abort a fetus for medical reasons, even when they actually want to have a child. In the second and third trimester of pregnancy, a doctor might perform tests to find out whether the fetus has any chromosomal conditions. An example could be anencephaly, which is a condition in which a fetus is missing parts of the brain and skull. Most fetuses with anencephaly don’t survive birth, or the infant dies soon after birth. In circumstances like this—where the prognosis is bleak—one might decide to have an abortion to spare the baby and the mother pain.
Technically, an abortion in a case like this is elective because the pregnant person could decide to keep the pregnancy. Elective abortions, even under these conditions, are controversial, as some might believe it’s best to let nature take its course. Others believe it’s more humane to have the abortion to reduce the suffering of everyone involved.

How can Rhesus factor complications cause a miscarriage?

Sometimes, miscarriages—complete, incomplete, or missed—can be caused by Rhesus factor complications. The Rhesus, or Rh, factor is what determines whether you have a negative blood type or a positive blood type. For example, B+ blood is Rhesus positive, whereas A– blood is Rhesus negative.
If someone with a Rhesus negative blood type is pregnant with a Rhesus positive fetus, this could cause complications. This isn’t usually an issue during the first pregnancy, but after that point, one’s body might develop antibodies that turn against the fetus, Davis says. “If unrecognized, the fetus may go on to develop in-utero anemia,” she adds.
Fortunately, this can be prevented with an injection of anti-D immune globulin or Rhogram, says Davis. This prevents your body from developing antibodies that attack the fetus. “It is important to [linkbuilder id=”6468″ text=”know your blood type”] if you experience a miscarriage to avoid your risk to subsequent pregnancies,” Davis says. “If you have a miscarriage and your blood type is negative, you should see your doctor.”

Do I need to see a doctor if I have an early miscarriage?

If you miscarry a pregnancy early in the first trimester (or you suspect you have), Mahnert advises you to check in with your doctor. While treatment isn’t always necessary after very early pregnancy losses, it can never hurt to have that confirmed by your OB-GYN. “If a woman has unexpected heavy bleeding and cramping after a confirmed pregnancy test it is always a good idea to check in with your OB-GYN,” Mahnert says. “If you experience heavy bleeding and other symptoms such as dizziness or faintness, you should be evaluated urgently.”
“If you have a confirmed intrauterine pregnancy based on ultrasound and then suspect a miscarriage, you should be re-evaluated by your physician,” Davis adds. “While spotting can be common in the first trimester, particularly around the time of uterine implantation, any bleeding like a menstrual flow or severe abdominal pain warrants an examination.”
If you miscarry 13 weeks or more into your pregnancy, you might need a dilation and curettage (often known as a D&C), which is a surgical procedure that removes all pregnancy tissue from the uterus.  
Davis notes, “No clinical evaluation is typically required afterwards unless you experience more than three recurrent losses.” But if you’re trying to conceive and you’ve had even one miscarriage, Davis suggests making an appointment with your doctor to discuss your and your partner’s health.

Rebecca was a trained wilderness first responder. She knew about ectopic pregnancies. Still, when an embryo implanted in her Fallopian tube, Rebecca (who’s asked that we not use her last name) missed the signs of an ectopic pregnancy completely.
“I didn’t even know I was pregnant,” Rebecca recalls. “I had suspicions, but a test came out negative, then I traveled to Hawaii for several weeks.”
It was while she was in Hawaii that the bleeding started, along with painful cramps, two classic signs of ectopic pregnancy. But since her [linkbuilder id=”6463″ text=”pregnancy test”] was negative, Rebecca shook them off for days, then a week. Finally, nine days after it all started, she mentioned she’d been bleeding to a friend who happened to be a nurse. Suddenly, two and two came together to make four.
“She sent me straight to the hospital, where I found out I was pregnant, miscarrying, and ectopic all at once,” Rebecca recalls.
Rebecca’s life was saved by that trip to the hospital. An estimated 2 percent of pregnancies are ectopic pregnancies, and for women living in North America, this condition is the leading cause of death in the first trimester of pregnancy and accounts for anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of all maternity-related deaths.
But what is an ectopic pregnancy? And are the signs really that easy to ignore? We talked to the experts about how ectopic pregnancy is defined, what they do to treat the condition, and how you can stay safe.

What is an ectopic pregnancy, anyway?

When someone gets pregnant, the embryo that’s created when sperm meets ovum is supposed to travel up the Fallopian tube and find its way to the uterus where it will hang out until birth, developing, growing, and turning into a human being.
But when a pregnancy is ectopic, the embryo gets lost on its way to the uterus. Technically, an ectopic pregnancy is “any pregnancy that implants outside the uterine cavity,” says G. Thomas Ruiz, an OB-GYN at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
In almost every case of an ectopic pregnancy—about 95 percent of the time—the embryo will implant itself in the Fallopian tube. In about 2.5 percent of ectopic pregnancies, the fertilized ovum can settle in at the cornua of the uterus (essentially the spot where the uterus and Fallopian tube meet). The other 2.5 percent are found in the ovary, cervix, or abdominal cavity.

What’s the problem here?

So the embryo didn’t go where it was supposed to. Why is that a problem? Well, every part of the female reproductive system has its own job. The uterus, of course, has the job of providing a growing fetus a safe place for development.
The Fallopian tube, cornua of the uterus, ovary, cervix, and abdominal cavity, on the other hand, are not suited for a developing fetus. There simply isn’t room in those structures for what has to happen to get a baby from conception to birth.
According to Cindy Basinski, an OB-GYN from Newburgh, Indiana, “Pregnancies that develop outside the uterus are dangerous because as the pregnancy grows it can rupture and cause life-threatening bleeding inside the abdomen.”
Sometimes the body will figure out something is wrong, and essentially “fix” an ectopic pregnancy, stimulating a miscarriage early on. Sometimes a woman won’t even know she was pregnant, let alone that her body was dealing with an ectopic pregnancy.
It’s when an ectopic pregnancy continues to grow, however, that the condition becomes something serious, Basinski says. Until the condition is treated—or if it ruptures—you might notice signs and symptoms like Rebecca’s.

Signs of an Ectopic Pregnancy

Notice Basinski said might.
“Unfortunately, for some women, ectopic pregnancy may have very little to no symptoms until it ruptures, causing bleeding in the abdominal cavity—leading a woman to seek emergency care,” Basinski says. “It is unpredictable during growth of an ectopic pregnancy—[whether it’s] weeks or months—when this event may happen.”
On the other hand, for many women, there are noticeable symptoms of experiencing ectopic pregnancy.
Some women report bloating, nausea, or vomiting, although these symptoms are common in [linkbuilder id=”6462″ text=”early pregnancy”] and can easily be confused for garden-variety morning sickness. Pelvic pain that can’t be explained by period cramps or another source or vaginal bleeding in the early stages of a pregnancy, on the other hand, are reasons to call your OB-GYN immediately. Once you’re in their office, you may well be diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy.

“Pain may be related to stretching of the Fallopian tube as the ectopic grows within it or small amounts of bleeding leaking into the abdominal cavity from the growing pregnancy,” Basinski explains. “Vaginal bleeding may occur as pregnancy hormones are often not produced normally, causing bleeding.”

How is an ectopic pregnancy diagnosed?

Even after you tell your doctor that you’re feeling any of the signs of ectopic pregnancy, diagnosis can be tricky. In fact, according to a 2002 study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, almost 40 percent of ectopic pregnancy diagnoses are incorrect and are later revealed to be normal, intrauterine pregnancies.
Avoiding this confusion comes down to talking to your doctor about what tests they’re performing.
“If a person is truly diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy by a physician, this is generally a very accurate diagnosis,” Basinski says. “Physicians are very careful to proceed to treatment of ectopic until they are certain because they do not want to harm a pregnancy if it is a normal one.”
That’s why they require a number of tests before diagnosis or treatment.
“If a physician is concerned that a patient may have an ectopic pregnancy, they will often follow a patient’s levels of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (BHCG, a pregnancy hormone) to see if it is rising normally,” Basinski says. “If it is not rising normally, this can indicate either an impending miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.”
An ultrasound is the next step, allowing doctors to take a look inside to see if the embryo is located inside the uterus (where it belongs) or outside of the uterine cavity (making it ectopic). This is where things can get tricky.
“It is difficult to see any pregnancy in any location until the pregnancy has grown enough to be seen—about four to five weeks,” Basinski notes. “If pregnancy levels reach a certain level but no pregnancy is seen in the uterus, this may be an indication of an ectopic pregnancy. If a pregnancy is seen outside the uterus, a definitive diagnosis of ectopic is made.”

Treating an Ectopic Pregnancy

After a definitive diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, the first treatment most doctors reach for is methotrexate, Ruiz says. The medicine is used in other medical settings to treat everything from rheumatoid arthritis to certain cancers, and it’s contraindicated for most pregnant women because of potential harm to the fetus.
However, in cases of an ectopic pregnancy, there is no saving the fetus, Ruiz says.
“If the embryo is an ectopic, it will not survive,” he notes. “The risk to the mother can be loss of life, loss of the uterus, loss of the tube, or impairment to future fertility.”
Prescribing methotrexate in cases of pregnancy (whether ectopic or intrauterine) stops the growth of the cells in the embryo, and the body will typically miscarry the pregnancy.
“Methotrexate is used in early diagnosed ectopic pregnancies and basically prevents DNA replication in rapidly dividing tissue,” Ruiz explains.
There’s a strict criterion before it’s prescribed, he adds, including a BHCG level that’s less than 5,000 milli-international units per milliliter and no fetal cardiac activity, to ensure the fetus is not viable.
For some women, however, methotrexate doesn’t work. Rebecca’s ectopic pregnancy remained in her Fallopian tube even after she was treated with the drug, and her doctor had to go in surgically to remove the embryo and save her Fallopian tube, enabling her to get pregnant again in the future.
Other women may have to have the affected tube removed completely, Ruiz says, if the methotrexate doesn’t work or if the diagnosis is not made soon enough. Typically this can be done laparoscopically, but if the tube has already ruptured, an ectopic pregnancy becomes a surgical emergency, requiring an abdominal incision.
Although a D&C, short for dilation and curettage, may have once been a means to treat ectopic pregnancy, the procedure is rarely used today, Ruiz says.
“Twenty-five years ago, if we were really stumped, we would do a D&C and send it for rapid frozen section,” Ruiz says. “If the rapid frozen section returned negative for chorionic villi we would proceed to laparotomy [a surgery where the surgeon cuts through the abdominal wall] for a presumed ectopic.”
These days, Ruiz says, highly sensitive ultrasounds and blood testing have rendered the D&C essentially obsolete.

How does this all happen?

Ectopic pregnancies are not a woman’s fault. There’s nothing you do that makes the embryo implant in the wrong part of the body.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t risk factors at play, Basinski says.
Those with a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy include women with a history of:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease due to a sexually transmitted disease
• Endometriosis causing damage to fallopian tubes
• Previous pelvic surgery for any reason, including appendectomy, tubal ligation, or tubal ligation reversal surgery.

A previous ectopic pregnancy can also increase your chances of having another one, as can smoking and the use of an IUD as a form of contraception.

Ectopic pregnancy prevention is possible (sort of).

There’s no way to tell whether or not a pregnancy will turn out to be ectopic. You can’t tell the embryo where to go, nor can you will it into the uterus.
But if you aren’t specifically trying to have a baby anyway, condom usage can go a long way toward preventing ectopic pregnancy, Basinski says. After all, it’s one of the most effective means of preventing any pregnancy!
If you do want to get pregnant and you have any of the aforementioned risk factors, hope is not lost.
“Women with risk factors should let their physicians know so that together they can closely monitor future pregnancies to enable an early diagnosis and treatment,” Basinski says.
In Rebecca’s case, ectopic pregnancy was not the end of her fertility journey. After two ectopic pregnancies, both of which ended in surgery, she tells HealthyWay, “I’m the mom of two beautiful boys, both conceived with IVF.”

Danna Lorch had never heard of diastasis recti when she was pregnant, but even if she had, the new mom didn’t have time to think about her stomach muscles after she gave birth. Back and forth she went from her hospital room—where she was recovering from an emergency c-section—to the neonatal intensive care unit, where her newborn son needed her to hold him and feed him.
No one told her then that the muscles at the core of her body might have been stretched apart during her pregnancy. In fact, it wasn’t Lorch’s physician who diagnosed her with diastasis recti. And it wasn’t the first physical therapist she saw about the agonizing pain in her hip—or the second. It took three physical therapists before the problem with Lorch’s abdominal muscles finally had a name and she could get some help.
The number of people who experience diastasis recti after [linkbuilder id=”6506″ text=”pregnancy is hard”] for researchers to quantify. Diastasis recti—a separation of the rectus abdominis muscles in your abdomen that leaves a gap that allows your belly to pooch out—isn’t always diagnosed.
Some people with diastasis recti simply assume they’re having a hard time losing weight after giving birth or having back pain because they’ve been hunched over a baby while breastfeeding or feeling the strain of carting a bulky infant carrier. They may not be wrong, but then again, there may be another underlying condition that’s exacerbating that sore back and unrecognizable tummy.
In one study of 300 first-time pregnant women who were followed from pregnancy till 12 months postpartum, the prevalence of diastasis recti was 33.1 percent, 60 percent, 45.4 percent, and 32.6 percent at gestation week 21, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum, respectively. In other words, a whole lot of pregnant people. In the study, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the researchers found no difference in risk factors between those who had diastasis recti and those who didn’t. No one did anything “wrong” to create this painful condition. It simply happened.
So how can you tell if you might end up with diastasis recti after giving birth? And what exactly is it?

Deciphering Diastasis Recti

Diastasis recti is the separation of the rectus abdominal muscles. But does that mean the muscles in the abdomen suddenly decide to go walkabout? And if yes, why?
According to Mary Fleming, MD, an OB-GYN and attending physician at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, pregnancy is often to blame. As the uterus expands to accommodate a growing fetus, it puts pressure on the abdominal wall and stretches these muscles. In part, that’s a necessity of pregnancy. Our hormones ebb and flow, softening and stretching the muscles of the abdomen to accommodate the baby as it develops.
For most, that stretching is simply a way for the abdomen to round out as the uterus grows. But for others, that stretching will push the muscles apart, and the muscles won’t quite spring back into place. That’s diastasis recti.
This can happen to anyone who is pregnant, but if you have a c-section, the risk increases because the muscles have to be surgically separated during the procedure to allow doctors access to the uterus to deliver the baby.
“For most women, these muscles will return to the normal place after delivery (of either type),” Fleming says, “However, for some women they do not, leaving a separation or gap, which can be seen as a midline bulge below the umbilicus (belly button). Diastasis recti is the clinical term for this condition.”

Do I have diastasis recti?

Let’s face it: The state of the abdominal area after giving birth can really vary. Some women seem to have magical powers that pop everything back from whence they came just minutes after birth. (Or so it feels anyway…we’re looking at you, Duchess Catherine!) For others, nothing in the abdominal region will ever look quite the same as it did before they earned their tiger stripes.
[pullquote align=”center”]According to one study, diastasis was present among all women at 36 weeks of pregnancy and decreased to 39 percent at 6 months postpartum.[/pullquote]
How it looks doesn’t (or shouldn’t) matter. But how it feels does, and the pain and discomfort that can come with diastasis recti shouldn’t be ignored.
Of course, it’s hard to say just how many women find that their abdominal region is affected by diastasis recti. There is limited research on the condition. But according to one study, diastasis was present among all women at 36 weeks of pregnancy and decreased to 39 percent at 6 months postpartum, says Nichole Mahnert, an OB-GYN at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix in Arizona.
What makes it hard to judge just how often the condition crops up is that for some people, diastasis recti will resolve on its own without medical intervention. This can happen in as little as six months, Fleming says, leaving a new mother largely unaware that her abdominal muscles decided to start wandering away from one another.
What’s more, the stigma of dealing with post-pregnancy weight can keep some parents from talking to their doctors and finding out they have diastasis recti. Even reporting on the topic of diastasis recti has been met with debate over society’s health and beauty standards and the damaging effect they can have on a new parent’s psyche. But again, it’s important to note that diastasis recti treatment isn’t about creating a “perfect mom bod.” It’s about healing the muscles of the abdomen and helping you regain core strength, which connects to overall body health.  
As Lorch says, “[Diastasis recti] kept me from feeling strong for a long time and also made me wonder why I wasn’t conforming to the pervasive ‘bounce back baby body’ nonsense that celebrity gossip magazines pump out at us.”
When someone is grappling with angst over why their body just isn’t “bouncing back” the way the tabloids tell us it should, an actual medical condition that’s split their abdominal muscles is often the last thing that comes to mind.

Diagnosis: Recti

While some folks never get help (or put it off), for others, diastasis recti can be debilitating enough to send them running to their doctor, begging for help.
That’s what happened to Grace Everett. The mom of two sons, ages 5 years and 20 months, felt what she calls “pretty acute back pain” after her second child was born, and it became untenable somewhere around the six- to eight-week mark.
“At that point, the rest of my body had recovered from the c-section, but I realized my back was not doing well at all; in fact, it seemed to be getting worse,” Everett recalls. “I wasn’t able to do normal things, like pick up my preschooler or clean (without pain) and had trouble sleeping.”
When she mentioned the pain to her doctor, they referred her to a physical therapist, where she was officially diagnosed with diastasis recti.
“[It] was essentially making my back work way too hard, because my core was totally out of commission,” Everett says. “‘My physical therapist was amazing from the start. She used an ultrasound machine so we could actually see what my muscles were doing. And then we started off small, with very specific exercises that were invisible to watch, where I was laying down prone just trying to get my abs to wake up. I had to retrain my core to engage and convince my back it wasn’t needed.”
Aside from back pain, another sign that you might have diastasis recti is a bulge right in the center of your abdominal area. This bulge will be vertical and is most apparent when sitting up from a lying-flat position, Mahnert says.
This can happen just days after giving birth, and it’s typically not an emergency situation. But it’s not normal for significant or severe pain to be associated with the separation, so that would warrant an immediate call to your doctor, Mahnert cautions.
Whether it’s pain, a bulge, or things just don’t feel right, it’s worth mentioning to your OB-GYN how your abdomen is feeling after birth. After all, this is why follow-up obstetrical care is recommended post birth—so the OB-GYN can catch conditions that relate to pregnancy or birth.
A diagnosis of diastasis recti will usually be made by measuring the length between the two muscles at rest and again when the muscles are contracted. From there, treatment will begin.

Rectifying the Recti: Healing Diastasis Recti

The good news? Surgery is very rarely needed to heal diastasis recti. Although an abdominoplasty can bring the walls of the abdomen together, this operation is considered elective, Mahnert says, meaning it’s often not covered by insurance. What’s more, it’s not recommended until after someone is finished with childbearing.
Instead, physical therapy—like the course that helped Everett get back on track—is the most common path for treatment because it’s both less invasive and more likely to be covered by insurance.
A physical therapist will examine you and begin developing an exercise routine that will target the abdominal muscles without exacerbating your symptoms.
For example, Megan Eggleton, a physical therapist at Grover M. Hermann Hospital in Callicoon, New York, says you’ll want to avoid exercises that increase that bulge, like full sit-ups.
“So very gentle abdominal activation to start, like pelvic tilts, very small crunches, pulling in your stomach like you’re sucking it in and holding for 10 seconds 10 times, and also on hands in knees doing alternating arms and legs,” she says.
Another popular diastasis recti treatment is sitting on an exercise ball and marching in place, Eggleton says, as it will help tighten the core abdominal muscles without worsening the diastasis recti.
Slow and steady can feel frustrating when you just want to feel better, but Lorch found that her physical therapist helped her feel strong and in control of her body again.
“My teacher, Hened, tailored exercises just for my diastasis and even taught me how to check my own stomach as I exercised to make sure I wasn’t straining the gap but strengthening it,” she says. “I saw results in about three months, and in about six the gap had nearly closed. It’s still not perfect by any means, but it’s no longer something that makes me feel weak or self-conscious. I used to love running before the baby and that’s something that I’m finally slowly getting back into.”
[pullquote align=”center”]”Life won’t get less crazy. So take care of yourself now, so you can keep up once they’re zooming all over the house!”[/pullquote]
The process was similar for Everett, who advises other parents in her situation make the call to their doctor as soon as possible, so treatment can begin right away.
“Don’t wait until life gets less crazy,” she says. “We moms have a way of putting off self-care, but honestly, taking an infant to my appointments, where he would just snooze in his car seat, was a heck of a lot easier than when he became mobile and I had to line up a sitter every time. Life won’t get less crazy. So take care of yourself now, so you can keep up once they’re zooming all over the house!”

Why Diastasis Recti Happens

Everett and Lorch both underwent c-sections, which can increase a risk of diastasis recti because of the work a doctor has to do to pull apart the abdominal wall to access the uterus.
But it isn’t only c-section deliveries that can result in the condition, Eggleton says. In fact, pregnancy isn’t the only cause, and it can happen to anyone—women, men, non-binary folks … whoever.
“The most common cause of diastasis recti is pregnancy in women. However, less commonly, it can also be caused by obesity (carrying a lot of weight in the abdominal area), lifting heavy weights incorrectly, and performing excessive and often incorrect abdominal exercises,” Eggleton says.
Few other risk factors for the condition have been identified, which makes it harder for a parent-to-be to prevent diastasis recti. Instead, doctors suggest patients simply follow the same healthy measures they’re recommended to follow anyway: Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
And if diastasis recti does happen, find someone who is qualified to help get you on the path to treatment. The better acquainted they are with diastasis recti, the better chances they have of helping you!