what is diastasis? Should I be checking my diastasis during pregnancy

Hey Strong Moms! I hope you are having an awesome Monday! I am excited because over the next 5 days I am going to be bringing you guys some awesome training that I think is relevant for not only my pregnant viewers, but my PP ladies, and fitness coaches too. So first off, if you are here and tuning in to this ---drop a comment and let me know who is here right now. It is SO good to see you all! Also as a favor please tag and share with any friends who you think would find this information valuable. Ok, so what is this training all about? I am sure you are here because you saw my post asking who was interested to learn about diastasis and pregnancy workouts. But in case you didn’t know what I am showing up on your screen today…. This is the first training in a 5-part series all about supporting your diastasis during pregnancy workouts. So This week we will bust some diastasis myths...and ill help you go from confused to confident when it comes to your diastasis. I’ve broken this down into 5 digestible components so that you can walk away with a better understanding of diastasis and pregnancy workouts. Today I am going to introduce diastasis and go over some of the common questions and concerns regarding this topic. Let’s dive in! I am going to share a picture now! Ok so….What does my diastasis mean? First, it does not mean... that you are weak, broken or damaged...nor does it mean that you are doing things wrong, that you are doomed to PF or PP problems down the road... It means you are normal, your abdominal muscles have expanded to accommodate your baby. And By the end of pregnancy, it is guaranteed that you will have a diastasis so there is no reason to start panicking now, it happens to everyone. what is diastasis? A diastasis is when the front connective tissue connection known as the linea alba, found between the two rectus abdominal muscles, becomes thinned and stretched out due to expansion, pulling and stretching... So Basically, it’s a thinning or stretching of the connective tissue. So the question I get asked the most is, ….. is this bad? Aesthetics aside, from a functional perspective your connective tissue and core help transfer load through your trunk so that you can bend, lift, and rotate. When the gap is too big or too squishy in the middle it becomes ineffective at transferring load in this area. Why is everyone so freaked out about diastasis anyways, esp on SM these days? I think one because people are afraid of it from an aesthetic perspective and we put so much stress on ourselves to look a certain way right after we have a baby. But from a function standpoint, the concern of Diastasis is that it has the potential to result in pelvic floor complications, abdominal, and low back pain and instability….. but again these complications are not guaranteed to leave women feeling out of control. So all though there is no sure-fire way to prevent diastasis and completely avoid complications from it. There are some adaptations and exercises we can do during pregnancy to influence a more positive outcome. But That is a little teaser of the stuff we are going to talk about later in the week so stay with the series. So going back to another common diastasis question is ….. Should I be checking my diastasis during pregnancy? My answer is always a hand down NO! During pregnancy checking routinely only creates an unnecessary obsession and leads to discouragement. So your focus - should not be on how big your diastasis is day to day -- but you should be asking yourself during your workouts or when you move throughout your day ---- is how can I move to better support this diastasis. How you are functioning and taking care of the body is more important than how big your diastasis is during pregnancy. So don't worry we will get to all those support considerations as the series goes on! So those are the top questions I get about diastasis... Comment below, ask a diastasis question if you wish. Also, I would love to hear what fears or myths you've heard about diastasis AND come back tomorrow when we're going to talk about more about diastasis and the difference between coning vs doming if you don't know what either of those is... You do NOT want to miss this! Thanks for joining me today!