Postpartum RAD

Following on from our blog last month regarding what is a 'normal' linea alba distance in women who haven't been pregnant. Let's now look at what occurs in pregnancy and postpartum.

Pregnancy:
By the 3rd trimester nearly up to 66-100% of women will have a rectus abdominal diastasis (an increased inter-recti distance of the two rectus abdominis muscles compared to nullips). 7.9cm wide can be considered 'normal' at 2cm below the umbi and 8.6cm wide at 2cm above the umbi and 7.9 cm wide at 5 cm above the umbi. That may sound like quite a significant distance, it is. Your body is going through the biggest physiological change it will ever have to go through and this is A NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS that occurs in pregnancy.

WAIT, what happens Postpartum then…

A study showed that at 6 months postpartum up to 2.1cm (at 2cm below the umbilicus), to 2.8cm (at 2cm above the umbilicus) and up to 2.4cm (at 5cm above the umbilicus) are considered 'normal' distances. So potentially up to 3cm above the belly button is normal ladies… NOT ZERO.

No one is ever zero unless they have been born without a linea alba ladies.

Just to recap from our last blog regarding RAD… remembering it's not all about the GAP… the function and thickness of the linea alba during tasks is potentially more important than the width.

If you are pregnant or postpartum and have been told you have a stomach separation, come see the team at WIF for a comprehensive assessment and correct guidance.

Reference: Mota et al. 2018 Normal width of the inter-recti distance in pregnant and post - partum primiparous women.