In the third trimester the ‘sixpack’ abdominal muscles separate to allow room for the baby to grow.  Within the first three months postpartum, in about half of women these muscles come back together properly.  In the other half a separation remains, known as a diastasis recti.We hear about this often as an aesthetic issue.  It can create a ‘mommy pooch’ or it still might look like you’re pregnant.  And while that’s a totally fine reason to seek care, the issue goes much deeper (quite literally).A diastasis means something in your core system is compromised and is linked to low back pain, incontinence, prolapse and painful intercourse.  It can be an underlying driver of pelvic health issues.In this episode we go through a simple self-evaluation to determine if you might have a diastasis, but the gold standard is a thorough evaluation from a pelvic floor physical therapist.  Most people go directly to trying exercises they find off the internet.  But there’s no one size fits all approach for treating a diastasis.  A pelvic floor therapist will identify why the muscles haven’t closed up, manually work to address the issue, and only then will exercises be effective.No matter how long it’s been you can absolutely still resolve a diastasis (without surgery).  Whether your goals are aesthetic or functional, treating a diastasis can improve both.About UsDr. Nicole and Jesse Cozean are the founders of PelvicSanity Physical Therapy (www.pelvicsanity.com) in Southern California. The clinic has helped thousands of patients in the Orange County, CA area and hundreds from around the world with a remote consultation and Out of Town Program.They co-authored The IC Solution and Nicole created The IC Roadmap online course to provide the most accurate, up-to-date information for those with interstitial cystitis. They run the Finding Pelvic Sanity Facebook group for a supportive online community for anyone dealing with pelvic health issues.Nicole has also created courses and trained thousands of pelvic PTs to provide better care through her work with Pelvic PT Rising (www.pelvicptrising.com). Subscribe to the podcast Follow @pelvicsanity for great info! Join the Finding PelvicSanity support group Check out www.pelvicsanity.com for additional help! And as always, we hope this has helped you find just a bit of pelvic sanity!