Is it recommended to have diastasis repair during c-section or wait until after birth to see if your body will recover?

I just watched my wife have a C-section 3 weeks ago. A traditional C-section does not provide very much exposure to the rectus muscles. The amount of exposure needed to properly repair the rectus diastasis is quite significant and just doesn't seem appropriate at the time of a C-section. If you have a significant diastasis, repairing a small section below the umbilicus will only put you at higher risk for a more problematic issue of weakness above the umbilicus. I would concentrate on enjoying your new little one and consider having a tummy tuck with formal complete rectus repair after you are done making your family. 

I recommend against having your OB tighten the lower muscles during your c-section. The muscle needs to be tightened the entire length and doing only the bottom will make the top appear even worse. Also, no disrespect to your OB, but this is beyond their scope of practice and the muscle needs to be repaired precisely and in a specific manner. Improper repair can cause problems for you later when your board certified plastic surgeon does your tummy tuck.

In general I believe its best to wait until after you have fully recovered from pregnancy before you address the muscles laxity or skin laxity.  This is quite different from other gyn procedures where performing a Tummy Tuck can be done at the same time, ie Hysterectomy, Tubal Ligation. 

I think ideally it would be best to wait until
you are back to pre-pregnancy weight prior to proceeding forward with any kind
of definitive repair and/or tummy tuck. This will help to ensure you achieve the best possible result. Make sure that your physician is board-certified in plastic surgery. Thank you for your question.

this is not a good idea to try and correct a distasis simultaneous to a c-section. Your body would have high circulation levels of hormones that would facilitate further relaxation for an acute repair. Better to recover and revisit this issue 9-12 months post partum to get the most predictable and best result most of the time.

Enjoy your baby and wait until you lose the weight and  your body recovers from the pregnancy and delivery. Then if you desire see a board certified plastic surgeon and discuss what needs to be done.

Wait until you have reovered from your C-section.  Consult a board certified well qualified plastic surgeon.  Members of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery are such surgeons; a list of such surgeons in your area can be found on their website - surgery.org.

Hi,  Congratulations on your 2nd pregnancy.  It is best to be done with your family before undertaking a repair of the muscle.  Have you decided that you are not having any more children?  That being said, the muscle and skin will tighten after you give birth, so it is best to wait and see what happens naturally.  Finally, the repair of the lower muscle that your OB is offering to do  may leave you with an uneven abdomen with tighter muscles below and looser muscles above which may result in the" warped abdomen and sagging skin " you mention above.  It is best to wait and seek the advice of a board certified plastic surgeon   after you give birth.  Good Luck,  Dr Bev

I know it may seem like a nice way to do things--deliver baby and correct the problems that your body developed from the two pregnancies.  First, correcting only the lower aspect may only magnify the problem above the belly button.  Also, if you have a significant rectus diastasis, the chances of you having loose skin and fat in the lower abdomen and around the belly button is higher this time.  This would not be addressed by your OB.  It would be best to wait and see how your body rebounds after the pregnancy.  Avoid exercises that would make your diastasis worse, such as sit ups and belly crunches.  Strengthen your transverse abdominis and abdominal oblique muscles and see what happens.  There are exercises for this.  Google 'Tupler technique exercises'.  If you still have a rectus diastasis and loose skin and fat, then consider an abdominoplasty.  Good luck!

Your research is poignant ie. in short: keep it simple.The tissues in the abdomen need time to settle, after a pregnancy. Recti diastasis, occurs due to expansion of the uterus and this over-stretches the connection between the 6-pack muscles (recti) beyond their usual limits. As things shrink back after pregnancy, the recti muscles don't, hence the resulting diastasis is usually something that has to be corrected surgically. When I perform a full tummy-tuck, I often have to correct this diastasis, but will regularly perform a skin excision, liposuction and occasionally correct a small hernia (often found around the tummy button), as additional parts to the procedure. This helps achieve a good cosmetic outcome. I spend time explaining this to my patients, so they know why I'm doing what I plan for them. Only correcting the diastasis at the time of C-section could risk pelvic organ injury, as everything is still "big" and has not had time to shrink back down.  It also won't give you the benefit of the other parts of a tummy tuck, thus compromising the look you might want. Finally,  as far as I am aware,repair of a diastasis at the time of C-section is not routine practice in plastic surgery.I would advise that you have a successful completion of pregnancy and wait for all your abdominal tissues to settle (usually about 3 months). Thereafter, seek advice from a good cosmetic plastic surgeon and enjoy the result of a good tummy-tuck.I wish you all the best for your pregnancy!