Rate and risk factors of diastasis recti abdominis developed during the postpartum period: a cross-sectional study

To identify risk factors affecting the occurrence of diastasis recti abdominis.

The retrospective study included 594 women who gave birth with a diagnosis of diastasis recti abdominis between February 2023 to February 2024. Based on the maximum separation width, the diastasis recti abdominis participants were divided into three groups (mild, moderate, and severe). Additionally, 205 postpartum women without concomitant diastasis recti abdominis during the same period were selected as control group. Data included maternal demographic and pregnancy parameters were analyzed.

The overall prevalence of the diastatis recti abdminis in our population was 56.6% (594/1050). Based on the results of this study, we identified that the more severe the diastasis recti abdominis, the higher incidence of the maximum separation width occurred at the umbilical level; Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that the parity and cesarean section had a positive relation with the occurrence of diastasis recti abdominis; Interaction analysis demonstrated that only cesarean section had a positive and strong correlation with the development of diastasis recti abdominis, whereas no increase in the likelihood of diastasis recti abdominis was found among women exposed to vaginal delivery.

Cesarean section is the independently contributing factors to develop the diastasis recti abdominis besides other socio-demographic and obstetric variables, suggesting that controlling cesarean section has a unique advantage in this regard. The widest separation distance occurs most frequently at the level of the umbilicus, and the percentage of which increases with increasing diastasis recti abdominis severity.