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The most beautiful blessing of pregnancy is bringing a new life into this world. While the happy tears flow and you bring your baby girl or boy home, you might wonder why you still look pregnant a few days later. This, amongst other symptoms, is the result of diastasis recti. To learn more about the condition, Haute Beauty sat down with Haute Beauty expert Dr. Jeffrey Lee. Here’s what he shared:

What is diastasis recti?

During pregnancy, your body goes through many changes. One of them is the expansion of your abdominal muscles to fit your growing child. Diastasis recti is a condition that describes the separation of your abdominal muscles. As diastasis recti can also happen when experiencing significant weight loss/or gain, greater than 99% of patients with diastasis recti are women who have gone through pregnancy. 

What is the fastest way to heal diastasis recti?

The first six months after delivery is the time when healing occurs.  I recommend using a compression garment during those first six months to maximize your body’s healing potential.

How can diastasis recti be treated?

If your body has healed as much as it can and there is still a diastasis, there are a few things you can do.  The gold standard is a tummy tuck where the muscles are physically repaired back to where they used to be. Some women are ready for surgery but some are not.  A great nonsurgical alternative is Emsculpt Neo.  It requires six sessions and has been proven to improve diastasis recti without surgery.

What are the symptoms of diastasis recti?

There can be many. It can range anywhere from having a rounder contour to your abdomen all the way to severe muscle dysfunction and back pain.

What happens if diastasis recti is left untreated?

If left untreated, diastasis is not a life-threatening condition.  Any associated symptoms will obviously not get any better, and any suboptimal abdominal contour will not improve.

Can you prevent diastasis recti?

Unfortunately, there is no way of preventing diastasis. Pregnancy can really push the limits of the human body, and diastasis recti are one of these consequences.  Fortunately, there are ways of repairing or restoring things back to where.