abdominal muscle separation..do i have it?

[mom2ariana]

okay let me try to explain this so it makes sense..
if im laying on my back with my knees bent and i lift my head, theres a lump where my belly button is and its still squishy but i can feel its hard on the sides...this is adominal muscle separation isn't it? how do you fix it after baby?

[LosingMyMindInGA]

Ok, I'm not sure if this is the same thing ya'll are discussing so I'm gonna throw it in here.  I'm gonna be 19 weeks on Friday...this will be my 6th full term pregnancy.  Lately, as in the last week or so, I have noticed somethign weird.  When I move a certain way, like try to sit up from a certain position or i pick up something like my 1 yo I feel this lump like thing like it's trying to protrude out for a second or two while i'm sitting up or lifting.  I don't think it's hard but it doesn't stick around long enough to feel it.  It's always in the same spot, just below the right side of my rib cage.  It's almost like someone is taking their fist and pushing out from the inside for a couple seconds.  

Anyone have any idea what this may be?  I'll bring it up to my ob on the 27th when I go.  BTW it does NOT hurt, it just feels wierd.  If i'm sitting or laying it doesn't feel any different in that area.

[mom2ariana]

haha yep!! i didn't really feel her movin when it happened so it was kinda one of those pains i just didn't know what it was.

[julianovak]

Baby movement.... i remember that also.... sharp little stings....

[mom2ariana]

any chance this explains the sharp pains ive had around my belly button occasionally?

[julianovak]

i had it... mines separated like 3 in. I know... its kind of nasty touching that space between the muscles........... it went away

[mom2ariana]

okay thanks so much!! im just so concerned with how my body will look after her (probably TOO concerned)...but it helps to hear to it self corrects most of the time. i have 3 fingerwidths..which is a little more than normal, but i'm planning on belly binding after delivery and in addition to that i will do exercises to encourage the muscles back together. :)

[Ashelen]

It's really hard to say...but in most cases it does self-correct. You should be dropping soon too which will take some of the pressure off of the front-uterine wall, but whether or not it corrects on its' own depends on so many factors it's just really hard to say...you can always ask your doctor, but I know that in most cases it's not a concern and you'll just have to wait and see. :)

[mom2ariana]

okay.. well i tried to self check and the ridge looks pretty wide when i try to sit up, but if i feel with my fingers i dont think the actual separation is very wide. i know 1-2 fingerwidths is normal..will more than 2 still self correct?

[Ashelen]

yes, diastasis is normal in the 3rd trimester (a slight separation of the abdominal muscles). it won't cause a pooch, but the problem with diastasis that doesn't return to normal is that it can actually cause your bowels to push through the separation once the uterus is no longer there (post-partum) and can cause all sorts of colic-like problems. the diastasis isn't usually the cause of a post-pregnancy pooch, it's just the muscles stretching in general so I wouldn't worry unless it sticks around for awhile after the baby's born...it's just one of those things that happens from all the stretching and almost always goes back to normal.

[mom2ariana]

also some muscle separation is normal and will fix itself right? how much separation is not normal and will cause a "pooch" if its not corrected?

[Ashelen]

yeah that's most likely diastasis...it should go away on its' own, most women's do, but if it doesn't go away by your 6wk post-partum talk to your doctor about it sometimes it needs surgical repair. it's only there because the muscles are stretched so far out of shape right now but generally after birth they return to almost normal.