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Postpartum recovery

Diastasis recti after birth — find your starting point

We searched widely, scored postpartum-core videos on what real people reported plus who’s teaching them, and kept only the few that cleared our bar. Tell us where you are and we’ll build you a simple, staged plan — no more searching, no more conflicting advice.

By Tim Hammacher, Founder↓ Full breakdown below
How we chose these: we searched widely and scored postpartum-core videos on what real people reported plus who’s teaching them — then kept only the few that cleared our bar and checked those against the research. Every source is cited so you can check it yourself.
⚠Feel a distinct bulge or suspect a hernia? Get it checked before starting any core work. When to see someone →

Where are you?

Your recovery plan

tailored to: A good place to start

Four parts, over a few months. Reconnect, load once cleared, return to impact later. Start gentle — there’s no rush.

Ground rule: watch your midline. If it bulges or “cones” during a movement, ease off — that single check replaces most “never do X” rules at every stage below.
Scores blend community-reported experience with content and credential signals — they’re not proof of clinical efficacy. For diastasis specifically, improvement reports can’t be separated from natural recovery. Read them as a guide to quality, not a guarantee.
Stage 1 · ReconnectWeeks 1–6+Start here

Breathing and gentle deep-core and pelvic-floor activation. Pick one main video and do this part first.

What the research says — Stage 1The popular idea that you “suck in to draw the gap closed” is contradicted by newer research — drawing-in can briefly widen the separation45. So the breathing here is for control and deep-core tension, not for closing the gap.Reported from the diastasis research; sources cited in the full breakdown below.
14:31
Stage 1 · Reconnect

10-Minute Abs After Baby (8 Diastasis Recti Safe Ab Exercises)

nourishmovelovePersonal Trainer
79
Top ratedvetted score
Breathing-first and well-scaled, with clear doming and low-back stop-signals. It reframes the goal as the tension you can generate, not how far you're separated — which is the right idea. The creator shares her own recovery story: encouraging, but her experience, not a promise.
Stage 1 take. The first three moves — the breathing, heel taps and bent-knee pulls (up to ~4:15) — are your reconnect work; the "elevated" moves that follow load the midline. The creator suggests the same progression: start with the first three and add the rest gradually — that's Stage 2 work, once you're cleared.

This video’s signal scores · weighted into 79 / 100

Community validation × 40%98
Content quality × 20%55
Credibility × 20%76
Relevance × 10%74
Metadata × 10%57

Strong across community, credibility, and content.

11:30
Stage 1 · gentle

Diastasis Recti Repair Workout - BEGINNER - heal + strengthen your core postpartum

Lauren FitterPersonal Trainer
65
Recommendedvetted score
Gentle, slow, explicitly beginner-framed — a good fit for the first weeks.

This video’s signal scores · weighted into 65 / 100

Community validation × 40%62
Content quality × 20%57
Credibility × 20%74
Relevance × 10%88
Metadata × 10%55

Recommended for its content fit, not its score alone.

10:54
Stage 1 + 2 · C-section

10 Minute “Lose your mommy pooch” Postpartum Ab Workout - for diastasis recti, C-section shelf

Lauren FitterPersonal Trainer
74
Highly ratedvetted score
Cleanest of the C-section set on claims, with the most complete, well-cued content — supine march → reverse march → double bent-leg lift → bent-leg-to-leg-extension → single-leg extension → straight-leg drops → side forearm plank twists (each side) → bird dog (each side), with the lower-back-pressed-down and pulled-in deep-core cues held throughout. Included for its safe modifications and control cues, not its "mommy pooch" title.

This video’s signal scores · weighted into 74 / 100

Community validation × 40%88
Content quality × 20%63
Credibility × 20%59
Relevance × 10%80
Metadata × 10%65

A solid pick on community signal with a credentialed creator.

Most “helped” reports of the set — but read the correction:

17:12
Stage 1 · C-section

Heal Diastasis Recti Ep. 2 | No More "Mom Pooch" | My 2nd C-Section Recovery Journey | RF TEAM

RoulafitnessFormer Professional
68
Recommendedvetted score
The strongest community signal in this set — genuinely C-section-framed with good breathing and pelvic-floor work. Published research differs from its promises: the creator says you'll "feel a difference in a few weeks" with "magical results," but prevalence studies show recovery is gradual over months and much of it happens naturally (Sperstad 2016, BJSM). Use it for the breathing, not the promise — and after a C-section, go slower.

This video’s signal scores · weighted into 68 / 100

Community validation × 40%78
Content quality × 20%50
Credibility × 20%64
Relevance × 10%80
Metadata × 10%63

Recommended for its content fit, not its score alone.

You’ve told us you’ve already done the gentle reconnection work — so we’ve moved your starting point to Stage 2 · Load, just below. If the breathing still feels shaky, it’s fine to spend more time here first.
If you’re returning to running, you’ve likely done the reconnect-and-load work already — your active step is Return, near the bottom.
For a severe separation we don’t start with a video — see the pelvic-floor PT step below. The breathing work here may still be useful later, once you’ve been assessed.
Stage 2 · LoadAfter clearance (~6 wks+)Your step

Add demanding, controlled movement — watching the midline. This is a different video from Stage 1, chosen for its progression.

What the research says — Stage 2Loading isn’t about a list of banned exercises — the evidence points to one question: can you do the movement without your midline doming?4 And loading starts on your doctor’s clearance, not a date — commonly around six weeks, and later after a C-section.6Reported from ACOG guidance and the diastasis research; sources below.

Before loading — have you been cleared for loaded exercise?

Starting loaded work too early can set you back. Clearance commonly comes around six weeks postpartum, and later after a C-section.

Cleared — your loading stage is below.
Stay gentle with Reconnect for now — come back once you’ve been cleared.
10:53
Stage 2 · Load

Diastasis Recti Exercises - From a doctor of physical therapy

Tone and TightenPhysical Therapist
75
Top ratedvetted score
A genuine phased progression — march → leg extension → straight-leg raise → double-leg — with clear "move on when this is easy" criteria, and the flat-back, no-doming cue held throughout. Led by a licensed PT who's honest about timelines and clearance.
Published research differs from this claim. The video's intro frames drawing-in as a way to "draw the muscle bellies closer together and heal it" — measurement studies found drawing-in acutely widens the gap rather than closing it (Mota 2015, JOSPT). We link you to the loading section, and the work here is for strength and control, not the millimetres.
We'll start this video past the intro's contradicted framing — a short safety preamble runs before the loading work begins.

This video’s signal scores · weighted into 75 / 100

Community validation × 40%82
Content quality × 20%58
Credibility × 20%80
Relevance × 10%84
Metadata × 10%63

Strong across community, credibility, and content.

The creator structures this as workout #1 of her three-part series — her Intermediate workout is the next step. We haven’t scored it yet.
Same loading session we surface on the standard route.
10:53
Stage 2 · Load

Diastasis Recti Exercises - From a doctor of physical therapy

Tone and TightenPhysical Therapist
75
Top ratedvetted score
A genuine phased progression — march → leg extension → straight-leg raise → double-leg — with clear "move on when this is easy" criteria, and the flat-back, no-doming cue held throughout. Led by a licensed PT who's honest about timelines and clearance.
Published research differs from this claim. The video's intro frames drawing-in as a way to "draw the muscle bellies closer together and heal it" — measurement studies found drawing-in acutely widens the gap rather than closing it (Mota 2015, JOSPT). We link you to the loading section, and the work here is for strength and control, not the millimetres.
We'll start this video past the intro's contradicted framing — a short safety preamble runs before the loading work begins.

This video’s signal scores · weighted into 75 / 100

Community validation × 40%82
Content quality × 20%58
Credibility × 20%80
Relevance × 10%84
Metadata × 10%63

Strong across community, credibility, and content.

10:53
Stage 2 · Load · start here

Diastasis Recti Exercises - From a doctor of physical therapy

Tone and TightenPhysical Therapist
75
Top ratedvetted score
A genuine phased progression — march → leg extension → straight-leg raise → double-leg — with clear "move on when this is easy" criteria, and the flat-back, no-doming cue held throughout. Led by a licensed PT who's honest about timelines and clearance.
Published research differs from this claim. The video's intro frames drawing-in as a way to "draw the muscle bellies closer together and heal it" — measurement studies found drawing-in acutely widens the gap rather than closing it (Mota 2015, JOSPT). We link you to the loading section, and the work here is for strength and control, not the millimetres.
We'll start this video past the intro's contradicted framing — a short safety preamble runs before the loading work begins.

This video’s signal scores · weighted into 75 / 100

Community validation × 40%82
Content quality × 20%58
Credibility × 20%80
Relevance × 10%84
Metadata × 10%63

Strong across community, credibility, and content.

You’ve likely completed loading already — head to Return below.
No loading video here for a severe separation — your PT will guide progression after assessing you. See the step below.
Stage 3 · Return~12 weeks+Your step

When you’re ready for running and impact — and after a pelvic-floor check. No video clears our bar here, but the clinical guideline does:

What the research says — Stage 3Honest expectations: exercise tends to narrow the gap modestly — often a few millimetres23 — and much early change is the body recovering on its own1. What you’re reliably building is strength and control. Return to impact only after a pelvic-floor check.Reported from the diastasis research; sources below.
What the guideline says. Written by three physiotherapists, it reports ~12 weeks postpartum as the earliest return-to-running window — not a target — and recommends a pelvic-floor assessment before any impact work. Its readiness markers are functional: things like walking 30 minutes and managing single-leg control without pain, leaking, or a feeling of heaviness. The full document is free, and worth reading before you lace up.
📄
“Returning to Running Postnatal” — Goom, Donnelly & Brockwell (2019)7

Free, physiotherapist-authored. Wait until ~12 weeks postpartum, and get a pelvic-floor PT assessment before impact. The authors send the PDF to your inbox after a quick email sign-up. Get the free guideline →

The guideline — and the research behind this page — points the same way: a pelvic-floor physical therapist is the right person to assess readiness for impact. If you don’t have one, a directory search for “pelvic health physio” plus your area is the place to start.

The honest version — what the research actually shows

A separated abdominal wall after pregnancy is not a sign you did anything wrong— it’s what happens when a body makes room for a baby. The goal here isn’t a flatter stomach; it’s rebuilding the deep-core and pelvic-floor strength you use for ordinary life, without your midline straining.

If you take one fact from this page: for a lot of women, the separation narrows substantially on its own. Researchers who followed 300 first-time mothers found diastasis in about 60% at six weeks, 45% at six months, and 33% at twelve months1 — most improvement happening early, without any program. If you’re early postpartum, time is on your side.

Because so much recovery happens naturally, it’s very hard to prove a routine is what closed someone’s gap. And exercise’s effect is modest: the better reviews find it narrows the separation by roughly four to eight millimetres23 — real, but in the reviewers’ own words unlikely to be clinically meaningful, and nowhere near “closing the gap.” No major obstetric body publishes a dedicated rehab guideline.6 The field is genuinely unsettled.

Where the videos contradict each other

Planks, cat-cow, when to start, how fast results come — you’ll find flat contradictions on all four. The evidence resolves them to principles, not exercise names: no blanket bans (it’s about doming and control); cat-cow is opinion not evidence; start is about clearance not a number (commonly ~6 weeks, later after a cesarean)6; and progress is gradual over months, not weeks, with early change partly natural recovery. This is why your plan above stages the work, and why Stage 2 only opens once you’ve been cleared.

Before you start — when to see someone first

If you feel a distinct bulge along the midline — especially around your belly button — or suspect a hernia, don’t start self-directed core work. Get it checked first. A hernia is a true gap in the abdominal wall, a different problem from diastasis recti.

See a pelvic-floor physical therapist or your ob-gyn if any of these apply:

  • Pain in your low back, pelvis, or abdomen that isn’t settling.
  • Leaking, urgency, or a feeling of heaviness in the pelvic floor.
  • A separation that isn’t improving after about twelve months.
  • You’re recovering from a cesarean and haven’t been cleared for loaded exercise.

How we decide

We don’t rank by views or polish. We read the comments to see what real people reported — what helped, and where it didn’t — and weigh that with the content and what we can verify about the person teaching it. We keep only what clears our bar (which is why some routes above are simply empty).

The honest limit: for diastasis, “it worked” is hard to separate from “it would have improved anyway.” Treat scores as a guide to which videos are well-made and credible — not proof any will change your measurements.

Sources

Every scientific point on this page links to its source. Tap a number in the text to see the citation, check how far we verified it, and open the paper. We only number load-bearing empirical claims.

  1. Sperstad et al. 2016 · Br J Sports Med. Diastasis present in ~60% at 6 weeks, 45% at 6 months, 33% at 12 months — most narrowing happens on its own. view ↗ · verified
  2. Benjamin et al. 2023 · Physiotherapy. Review of 16 RCTs: exercise reduces the gap by ~4 mm — in the authors' words, "unlikely to be clinically significant." view ↗ · abstract verified
  3. Capoccia Giovannini, Stabilini et al. 2026 · Hernia. Meta-analysis of 9 RCTs: gap reduced ~8 mm with no change in disability; authors note much of the change may be spontaneous recovery. view ↗ · full-text verified
  4. Lee & Hodges 2016 · J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. A curl-up narrows the gap but distorts the midline; pre-activating the deep core (transversus) widens it slightly while improving load transfer. view ↗ · findings verified
  5. Mota et al. 2015 · J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. "Drawing-in" (actively sucking the belly in) was found to widen the inter-recti distance postpartum. view ↗ · findings verified
  6. ACOG Committee Opinion 804, 2020 · Obstet Gynecol. Pelvic-floor exercise can begin in the immediate postpartum period; physical activity is resumed gradually "as soon as medically safe." view ↗ · wording verified
  7. Goom, Donnelly & Brockwell 2019 · Returning to Running Postnatal. Physiotherapist-authored guideline: wait roughly 12 weeks and get a pelvic-floor assessment before returning to impact. view ↗ · guideline

Spot something wrong, out of date, or missing a source? Tell us →

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Where to startPick your situation above, do the Stage 1 breathing first — even if it feels too easy. Add loading once you’ve been cleared, and give it months, not weeks. Watch your midline, and back off when it domes. See a pelvic-floor PT or your doctor if any of the flags show up.
Plan in progress
Current stage — nourishmovelove

Your diastasis plan

A staged journey over a few months. Start gentle, add loading once you’re cleared — there’s no rush.

Tap a stage to mark where you are.

  • GROUND RULES
    Watch your midline — ease off if it domes
  • STAGE 1 · RECONNECT · START HERE
    nourishmovelove
  • STAGE 2 · LOAD · AFTER CLEARANCE
    Tone and Tighten
  • STAGE 3 · RETURN · LATER (~12 WKS+)
    Returning to Running guideline

Reminders are set directly on each stage’s card on the page.

Report an issue

Spotted something wrong, out of date, or missing a source? Tell us — we review every report and correct the page if it’s warranted.

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