NPR

Flattening The 'Mummy Tummy' With 1 Exercise, 10 Minutes A Day

The technical term is diastasis recti and it affects many new moms. The growing fetus pushes apart the abdominal muscles and the separation often stays open. But science suggests this fix can work.
Keller measures the separation in a student's abdominal muscles using her fingers as a guide.

I admit it. I have a "mummy tummy," also known as "mommy pooch." You know, that soft, jelly belly you retain after having a baby — it makes you look a few months pregnant.

I've tried to convince myself that the pooch is a valiant badge of motherhood, but who am I kidding? The pooch bothers me. And it turns out it's been causing me back pain.

So when I hear that a fitness coach and doctor have come up with a technique that can flatten the pooch quickly and easily, I think, "Why not?"

A few weeks, later I'm rolling out a yoga mat with a dozen other moms and pregnant women in San Francisco.

"We will see a dramatic change," says, who leads the class. "You can easily expect to see 2 inches off your waist in three weeks of time," Keller says. "That's not an unrealistic expectation."

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