A history:

I am a mid 30’s mother of an almost 2 and just turned 3 year old. Both kids were over 9 pounds, and I gained over 60 pounds, (depsite walking 5 miles a day) with each of them. I developed an umbilical hernia after child no. 1, but thought it was just a cosmetic consequence of pregnancy. My ob/gyn had ok’d me to do crunches during pregnancy no. 1 for as long as I could physically do them. Birth resulted in a c-section, and I lost all of the weight in the first 6 months post-birth and did many many crunches in this time period. I then became pregnant with child no. 2.

I changed ob/gyn for child no. 2 and asked about the diastasis recti at my first pregnancy appointment. She did not catch the hernia, but said that the diastatis recti could only be fixed with surgery. I inquired about stitching it during the second planned c-section, to which she informed me that I then could not hold my baby for several weeks while I healed. I opted against further pursuit of surgery and did not look into a fix until baby no. 2 was 18 months old. I acheived prepregnancy weight rather quickly with both children, but still looked 4-5 months pregnant.

I went to an osteopath who specializes in natural remedies, and he too confirmed that I could only repair my abdominals with surgery, with no mention of the hernia.

A family member of mine saw my belly button when my 2nd child was 18 months old and informed me that I had a hernia and should seek medical attention. I returned to my ob/gyn who confirmed the hernia and suggested I see a general surgeon.

At this point I found Bonnie and the Tupler technique and had already made the decision to try and close the diastasis without surgery. I saw a general surgeon only to confirm that the hernia was not dangerous and there was no immediate need for hernia surgery. The surgeon informed me that the diastasis was only 2 fingers wide, and I really did not even need the surgery. He was shocked that I even knew what a diastasis was. He also said that he could repair the diastatis as well, but that the recovery time would be long. He could repair the hernia, but that there was no immediate need for it as it was not particularly dangerous. I informed him that I was going to attempt to fix it with exercise, to which he responded he had never heard of such a thing. This particular surgeon is not a “cutter” and was supportive of my alternative choice. Further, he said he’d love to see the results, and to come back in six months.

I saw Bonnie just before memorial day, and took before pictures. The surgeon had measured me wrong and the diastasis was MUCH larger than the surgeon had measured.