Post-pregnancy abdominal wall separation

Women who are pregnant with twins or through IVF are more likely to experience abdominal wall separation due to an increased bump size, as well as those who have had multiple pregnancies.

You’re less likely to notice symptoms during pregnancy, but after pregnancy it’s easy to check by lying flat on your back with legs bent and your head and shoulders raised. If a ridge appears running down the middle of your tummy, this is the contents of your abdomen pushing up through the muscles

Often, this can be treated with exercises, however more extreme cases may benefit from surgery called abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).

After checking yourself, have a chat with your health visitor, GP or consultant, who will be able to double check using a similar method and give a proper diagnosis. They may give you some simple exercises to do, refer you to a physiotherapist for further support, or even recommend surgery.

If it is diagnosed as divarication, look after yourself by avoiding strenuous activity and heavy lifting and bending.

If your consultant can see that abdominal muscle weakness is affecting your ability to carry out daily activities, or the condition is causing you distress, they may recommend a surgical treatment called abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).

The usual way to treat abdominal wall separation is with regular pelvic floor and deep stomach muscle exercises.

If surgery is recommended it will be carried out under general anaesthetic, which means you'll be asleep. It takes two to five hours and you’ll be cared for in hospital for at least a couple of nights afterwards.

Tummy tucks can be quite painful, so you'll be offered pain relief while you're in hospital. Be prepared to use pain relief for a few weeks afterwards as your body recovers from the operation. Your consultant will let you know when you can get back to your usual routine, but it usually takes up to six weeks to fully recover.