How Common Is Diastasis Recti? Statistics & Risk Factors

Diastasis recti abdominis is remarkably common, especially during and after pregnancy. Studies consistently find that most pregnant women develop some degree of abdominal separation by late pregnancy, and roughly a third still have it a year after giving birth. But pregnancy is not the only path to diastasis recti: around a quarter to a third of men have it too, and it shows up in children, older adults, and anyone whose abdominal wall has been stretched or weakened over time. The condition is far more widespread than most people realize, and the risk factors extend well beyond having a baby.

How Common It Is During and After Pregnancy

The numbers shift dramatically depending on when you measure. One study tracking women from mid-pregnancy through their first postpartum year found that about a third had diastasis recti by week 21 of pregnancy, roughly 60% had it six weeks after delivery, about 45% still had it at six months postpartum, and about a third had it at 12 months postpartum.¹ Another study reported that by gestational week 35, essentially 100% of women had some measurable separation, which then dropped to about 39% by six months after delivery.² In other words, almost every pregnant woman gets it near the end of pregnancy. The real question is whether it resolves afterward, and for many women, it does not fully close on its own.

Broader reviews of the postpartum population put the overall prevalence somewhere between 21% and 54%, depending on the study design, the measurement method, and how separation is defined.³ That is a wide range, and it points to a real problem in the research: there is no single agreed-upon cutoff for what counts as diastasis recti. Some studies use a gap of more than two centimeters between the rectus muscles, others use three centimeters, and the numbers you get change substantially depending on which threshold you pick.

Does It Go Away on Its Own Over the Years?

Many women are told diastasis recti resolves within the first year, and for some it does. But research tracking women years and even decades after childbirth tells a more complicated story. A cross-sectional study measuring women at various intervals after their last delivery found that the prevalence using the two-centimeter threshold was about 36% at three years postpartum, 31% at five years, 22% at ten years, and then actually climbed slightly to 26% at twenty years and 30% at thirty years.⁴ Using the stricter three-centimeter threshold, the numbers were lower (about 13% at three years, dropping to around 6-10% at later time points) but still showed that the condition persists for a meaningful share of women long after pregnancy.

The slight uptick in prevalence at the twenty- and thirty-year marks likely reflects the influence of aging. As women get older, connective tissue loses elasticity, body composition changes, and the linea alba (the strip of connective tissue running down the midline of the abdomen) tends to widen. A study of peri- and postmenopausal women found that over a third had measurable diastasis above the navel, and nearly 80% of those women also had pelvic floor dysfunction.³ So for many women, what began during pregnancy may persist or re-emerge as they age.

Diastasis Recti in Men

Pregnancy gets nearly all the attention, but men develop diastasis recti too, and the numbers are surprisingly high. One narrative review reported prevalence of about 25-30% in males overall, and the rate climbed much higher in men who also had another abdominal wall hernia (about 47%) or an aortic aneurysm (67%).⁵ A cross-sectional study found roughly 30% of men met the two-centimeter threshold, dropping to about 10% at the three-centimeter threshold.⁶

In men, the main drivers are different from pregnancy. Visceral obesity, or the deep abdominal fat that pushes outward against the abdominal wall, is a major contributor. Smoking also appears to degrade the quality of the linea alba by affecting connective tissue composition. Age and physical activity levels both play a role as well.⁶ Interestingly, while diastasis recti in women is often linked to low back pain and functional complaints, the evidence for this connection in men is less clear. One review found a relationship between diastasis recti and core stability in terms of low back pain in males, but a cross-sectional study found no association with abdominal wall muscle function, low back pain, or quality of life.⁵ The research on men is still catching up.

What About Children?

Diastasis recti in children is generally considered a benign finding that tends to resolve as the child develops core muscle strength, but the research base here is thin. One ultrasound study noted it was the first to examine the condition in otherwise healthy children and acknowledged that the physiological consequences are essentially unknown.⁷ Parents sometimes notice a ridge or bulge along their infant’s or toddler’s midline when the child strains or cries, which is usually diastasis recti and typically nothing to worry about. Pediatricians generally take a watch-and-wait approach since it resolves as the abdominal muscles mature.

The Main Risk Factors

Understanding why diastasis recti develops helps explain who is most likely to get it. During pregnancy, two forces work together: hormonal changes loosen connective tissue throughout the body, and the growing uterus applies sustained outward pressure on the abdominal wall. The rectus muscles gradually separate as the linea alba stretches and thins. In some cases, the position of the baby concentrates stress on the midline rather than distributing it evenly.³

Beyond the basic mechanics of pregnancy, several factors increase the odds:

Multiple pregnancies: Having given birth more than once roughly triples the odds compared to first-time mothers. One study found an odds ratio of about 3.2 for multiple parturitions.⁸
Cesarean delivery: The same study found an odds ratio of about 3.5 for cesarean section, likely because the surgical incision and recovery further compromise the abdominal wall.⁸
Higher BMI: A cross-sectional study of adults found that increased body mass index was an independent risk factor for diastasis recti in the general population, not just pregnant women.⁹
Older age: Age was independently associated with diastasis recti in that same study, separate from its connection to BMI or pregnancy history.⁹

Some factors that people might expect to matter did not hold up in the data. Smoking and umbilical hernia, for instance, were not independently significant in multivariate analysis in one large study of the general adult population.⁹ That said, the picture in men may differ: research specifically on males has identified smoking as a factor that worsens the quality of connective tissue in the linea alba.⁵ These discrepancies likely reflect different study populations and designs rather than a clean contradiction.

How It Gets Measured and Why That Matters

One reason the prevalence numbers vary so much is that measuring diastasis recti is harder than it sounds. The traditional method is palpation, where a clinician presses their fingers into the midline of the abdomen and counts how many finger-widths fit in the gap. It is simple and requires no equipment, but it is not very reliable. A study comparing palpation, digital calipers, and a specialized tool called a diastometer against ultrasound imaging found poor agreement across all the manual methods.¹⁰ Ultrasound is considered the gold standard because it visualizes the actual distance between the inner edges of the rectus muscles, but it is more expensive and not available in every clinical setting.

The location of the measurement matters too. Diastasis recti does not always present the same way along the length of the abdomen. Ultrasound studies have categorized several anatomical patterns: the gap may be open only above the navel, only below it, only at the navel itself, or open along the entire midline but wider in one direction.¹¹ This variability means that a single measurement at one point might miss a wider separation elsewhere. The most common location for the widest gap is at the level of the navel.¹

Can Exercise Prevent or Reduce It?

This is where many postpartum women (and their clinicians) focus their energy, and the evidence is cautiously encouraging. A systematic review found that exercise during pregnancy reduced the presence of diastasis recti by about 35%, and both prenatal and postnatal exercise appeared to reduce the width of the separation.¹² A literature review similarly concluded that abdominal exercises can prevent or reduce the condition.¹³

After delivery, the landscape of exercise programs is broad but messy. A scoping review of postpartum rehabilitation found promising results from programs targeting both deep and superficial abdominal muscles, pelvic floor muscles, and respiratory techniques, as well as yoga and suspension training. However, the review also flagged enormous variability in how studies defined and measured diastasis recti, the severity of cases included, and how soon after birth the programs started.¹⁴ That variability makes it hard to say exactly which exercises work best.

A network meta-analysis comparing multiple treatment approaches found that exercise combined with neuromuscular electrical stimulation had the highest probability of being the best treatment for reducing the gap, followed by exercise combined with acupuncture, then exercise with a corset, and exercise alone. All of these were more effective than no treatment. Across the board, combinations that included exercise outperformed treatments without it.¹⁵ A separate trial found that combining core stabilization exercises with an abdominal corset was more effective than either alone for improving separation width, trunk strength, balance, and overall function.¹⁶

The Crunch Debate and Intra-Abdominal Pressure

If you have diastasis recti and have searched for advice online, you have almost certainly encountered warnings about crunches. The concern is that traditional crunches raise pressure inside the abdomen and push the organs against an already-weakened midline, potentially making the gap worse. The reality is more nuanced than a blanket ban would suggest.

One study found that performing a crunch actually narrowed the gap between the rectus muscles during the movement itself, both during late pregnancy and at multiple postpartum time points.¹⁷ The muscles pull closer together when they contract. However, another study noted that while a curl-up does reduce the measured distance between muscles, it also distorts the linea alba and increases intra-abdominal pressure. When the curl-up was combined with a diaphragmatic breathing technique that reduces that pressure, the distortion was lower.¹⁸

A randomized trial compared conventional abdominal exercises (which generate higher intra-abdominal pressure) with hypopressive exercises (which use breathing techniques to lower it). Both reduced the gap, but through different mechanisms: conventional exercises reduced it during rest, while hypopressive exercises reduced it during muscle contraction.¹⁹ The drawing-in exercise, where you pull your navel toward your spine, showed mixed results: it narrowed the gap during late pregnancy but actually widened it slightly in the postpartum period.¹⁷ The takeaway is that exercise type and timing both matter, and blanket advice to avoid all crunches is too simplistic.

When Surgery Becomes an Option

Most guidelines position surgery as a last resort, recommended only after conservative treatment has been given a real chance. Swedish national guidelines, for instance, specify that physiotherapy should be tried first, with at least six months of structured core training before surgery is even considered. The separation should be at least five centimeters wide (unless there is severe bulging or an accompanying hernia), and at least two years should have passed since the last childbirth, with no future pregnancy planned.²⁰

When surgery is performed, the standard approach is plication, where the stretched linea alba is folded and sutured to bring the rectus muscles back together. This can be done as part of an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) or laparoscopically. A large review of surgical techniques found no significant difference in complication or recurrence rates between open and laparoscopic approaches, though a double-layer suture closure was associated with fewer complications.²¹ Patient satisfaction after repair tends to be high, and most studies report few major complications. It is worth noting that diastasis recti is not a true hernia, which means there is no risk of tissue becoming trapped or losing blood supply. Most repairs are done for functional or cosmetic reasons rather than medical urgency.²²

The Psychological Side

The physical gap between the muscles is only part of the story. A narrative review found consistent links between diastasis recti and anxiety, depression, body image disturbance, reduced self-esteem, social withdrawal, and lower quality of life.²³ These are not minor complaints. An interview study of women living with the condition captured how deeply it can affect daily life and relationships. Women described feeling shame about their bodies, losing their sense of attractiveness, and pulling away from physical intimacy with their partners. Several described feeling like their body was no longer their own.²⁴

These psychological effects are easy to dismiss as cosmetic concerns, but they are more than that. The visible bulge that many women with diastasis recti experience, sometimes called a “mummy tummy” or “pooch,” can make a woman look pregnant months or years after delivery, which carries its own social weight. The functional limitations matter too: women describe difficulty with lifting, carrying children, and basic core movements. When clinicians treat diastasis recti purely as a mechanical problem, they risk missing the broader impact on a person’s mental health and daily function. The research increasingly makes the case for a multidisciplinary approach that addresses both the physical and emotional dimensions.

Gestational Diabetes and Other Underappreciated Links

Some emerging research looks at whether conditions during pregnancy, beyond the pregnancy itself, influence diastasis recti risk. One large study of over a thousand postpartum women found that among those with gestational diabetes, the incidence of diastasis recti was about 29%, compared to about 26% in those without it. The difference was not statistically significant, but the overall rate of diastasis in the full cohort was nearly 54%, illustrating just how common the condition is in the postpartum population at large.³ While gestational diabetes does not appear to be a strong independent risk factor based on current data, it often coexists with higher BMI and greater weight gain during pregnancy, both of which are established risk factors.

The connection between diastasis recti and hernias is also worth understanding. Diastasis recti is not itself a hernia. In a hernia, tissue pushes through a hole in the muscle wall, creating a risk of incarceration or strangulation. In diastasis recti, the muscles are separated but the tissue between them is intact, just stretched. However, the two conditions can coexist, and the presence of an abdominal wall hernia alongside diastasis recti can change the treatment calculus. In men, the association between diastasis recti and hernias appears to be particularly strong at wider separations.⁶ Surgical guidelines sometimes allow intervention at narrower widths when a concurrent hernia is present.²⁰

1
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2
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3
PubMed Central. Diastasis recti abdominis: A comprehensive review
4
Scientific Reports. Prevalence and risk factors of diastasis recti abdominis in the long-term postpartum: a cross-sectional study
5
PubMed. Rectus diastasis in males: a narrative review
6
PubMed. Prevalence, risk factors, and adverse outcomes of diastasis of rectus abdominis in men: a cross-sectional study
7
PubMed Central. Diastasis recti in children – results of ultrasonographic study
8
PubMed Central. The relationship of severity in diastasis recti abdominis and pelvic floor dysfunction: a retrospective cohort study
9
PubMed Central. Normal width of the linea alba, prevalence, and risk factors for diastasis recti abdominis in adults, a cross-sectional study
10
PubMed Central. Assessment of diastasis recti abdominis: Clinimetric properties of four measuring instruments
11
Polish Journal of Radiology. Diastasis of rectus abdominis muscles: patterns of anatomical variation as demonstrated by ultrasound
12
PubMed. Effects of exercise on diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscle in the antenatal and postnatal periods: a systematic review
13
Advances in Rehabilitation. Exercises for pregnant and postpartum women with diastasis recti abdominis – literature review
14
PubMed Central. Diastasis Recti Abdominis Rehabilitation in the Postpartum Period: A Scoping Review of Current Clinical Practice
15
PubMed. Comparative Efficacy and Acceptability of Non-surgical Treatments with or without Exercise for Diastasis Recti Abdominis in Postpartum Women: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
16
PubMed. Comparison of the efficiency of core stabilization exercises and abdominal corset in the treatment of postpartum diastasis recti abdominis
17
PubMed. The Immediate Effects on Inter-rectus Distance of Abdominal Crunch and Drawing-in Exercises During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period
18
Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Practice. Acute effect of an abdominal exercise combining diaphragmatic aspiration and Curl-up on the interrecti distance: a cross sectional study in postpartum women
19
PLoS ONE. Effect of hypopressive and conventional abdominal exercises on postpartum diastasis recti: A randomized controlled trial
20
PubMed Central. Management of diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles: recommendations for swedish national guidelines
21
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Literature Review of the Surgical Treatment of Rectus Diastasis
22
PubMed. Rectus abdominis diastasis
23
Journal of Health, Wellness and Community Research. Psychological Comorbidities in Women Having Diastasis Recti – Narrative Review
24
PubMed Central. Women’s experiences of living with increased inter-recti distance after childbirth: an interview study