What happens to your abdominal muscles during pregnancy?

Here we are talking about exactly what happens to your abdominal muscles during pregnancy and some helpful tips for good abdominal care.  It will also help to explain why there's such a fuss over doing the correct form of abdominal exercises post birth when you understand just what your mid region has perhaps undergone.

Here we go...

The six-pack muscle (Rectus Abdominis) runs from your breast bone to your pubic bone and is joined together down the middle with a strong fibrous sheath called the Linea Alba. In some pregnancies, the Linea Alba becomes a little darker in colour and is visible on your stomach - (see pic). This is called Linea Negra which simply means “dark line”.

You may have heard people talk about your abdominal muscles “splitting”. Your muscles don’t usually “split”, because they’re already in a separated state, as they’re held together by the Linea Alba which I mentioned above.

What happens to the abdominal muscles during pregnancy, is completely painless, you aren’t aware of it, and I like to refer to it simply as abdominal “separation”.  It's correct name is a Diastasis Recti.

The Rectus Abdominis stretches vertically (up and down your stomach) to accommodate baby bump at your front, and when it can’t stretch any further up and down,  then the linea alba begins to thin out and stretch and the two sides of the abdominals move further apart (horizontally - see pic). This most often occurs in the third trimester but can also begin in the second trimester.

I guess it’s a little bit like the Linea Alba is heavy duty cling film stretching apart. The muscles are nowadays thought to separate in almost all pregnancies so is very common and nothing to worry about. However there are steps we can take to try to limit the degree of separation even if we cannot avoid it (see below).

This change to our core muscles is one of the focuses at our Pregnancy Pilates class. Some people are more likely to get a separation than others and it depends on a number of factors. E.g. multiple births or carrying a larger baby to name but a few. The separation can take place above the belly button, below the belly button, or both.

The result can lead to poorer core strength/support for the lower back, pelvic floor weakness and a change in posture. But there's lots we can do to help...and most of it relates to keeping pressure off the abdominal wall (it's under quite enough as it is!)


Abdominal care tips during pregnancy & early postnatal:

- Perform the log roll in and out of bed (come onto your side to enter into and out of bed). 

- Avoid hard abdominal exercises e.g planking and crunches from your second trimester

- Avoid slouching/tucking under pelvis when sitting, instead use cushions in the small of your back. 

- Bring your weight slightly towards your heels when standing (ensuring you feel stable)


Doing Pilates-based exercise and pelvic floor strengthening (Kegals) during pregnancy and immediately after birth is important to help these muscles maintain strength and  also assists the adbominals re-align post birth. After all, the pelvic floor muscles form the base of your core unit and is fundamental in good core function.

Whilst Pilates is great for your pregnant/postnatal body it is crucial that your instructor is pre/postnatal trained as regular Pilates classes involve work on the outerlayer (six pack muscle) which is counter productive and can cause pelvic floor issues and exacerbate / prolong abdominal separation.


So there you have it - If you want to know more about keeping those muscles strong during pregnancy or to have your core restored and abdominal muscles assessed following birth please check out our timetable to find a class near you.

Best wishes,

Debbie x