Understanding pressure management, diastasis recti, and the connection to pelvic floor health

Introduction

If you’ve ever noticed your abdomen pushing forward into a small ridge or “doming” shape during movement in pregnancy, perhaps when getting out of bed, rolling up, or exercising, it can feel concerning.

Many women immediately wonder:

Is this diastasis recti?
Am I damaging my core?
Should I stop doing this movement?

But abdominal doming isn’t automatically something to panic about.

More often, it’s simply information about how pressure is moving through the body.

During pregnancy, the abdominal wall stretches to accommodate your growing baby. The connective tissue running down the centre of the abdomen (called the linea alba) becomes thinner and more responsive as it adapts to this change.

This is a normal part of pregnancy.

What matters more than the appearance of doming itself is how effectively your body can manage pressure through the entire core system, including the diaphragm, abdominal wall, and pelvic floor.

Understanding this system is one of the most helpful ways to support your body both during pregnancy and in postnatal recovery.

What Doming Actually Tells Us

Abdominal doming is often discussed in relation to diastasis recti, but it’s helpful to understand what that really means.

A diastasis recti refers to thinning or widening of the linea alba, the connective tissue connecting the left and right sides of the abdominal wall.

This tissue acts like a tendon for your abdominal muscles, helping them transmit tension across the centre of your body.

But diastasis isn’t simply about a gap in the muscles.

It’s really about how well the abdominal wall can create and manage tension when the body is under pressure.

Your core works as a pressure system made up of three key components:

• the diaphragm
• the abdominal wall
• the pelvic floor

These structures work together like a piston.

When you inhale, the diaphragm descends and pressure moves downward.
When you exhale, the abdominal wall and pelvic floor coordinate to manage and redistribute that pressure.

When this system is working well, pressure spreads evenly through the body.

When coordination breaks down, pressure may push forward into the abdominal wall, creating the doming shape many women notice.

This doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong.

It simply tells us the body may need better coordination of breath, core tension, and movement.

Pregnancy: Why Doming Can Appear

Pregnancy creates several changes that influence how pressure moves through the body.

As the uterus grows, the abdominal wall stretches and the rib cage often changes shape. The diaphragm also has less space to descend, which can alter breathing patterns.

These changes can make it more difficult for the abdominal wall and pelvic floor to coordinate pressure effectively.

This is why women sometimes notice doming during movements like:

• getting out of bed
• rolling up from the floor
• lifting weights
• certain core exercises

For many active women, especially those continuing to train or exercise during pregnancy, the body may generate high levels of intra-abdominal pressure.

Doming can simply be the body’s way of redirecting that pressure.

Rather than thinking of this as something you must immediately eliminate, it can be more helpful to see it as feedback from your body.

Small adjustments in breath, rib cage positioning, and movement strategies can often significantly improve how pressure is managed through the abdominal wall.

Inside AlignBirth, this is why we focus so much on:

• pregnancy-specific breathing patterns
• rib cage mobility and positioning
• pelvic stability
• coordinated core activation during movement

These foundations support how the body adapts as pregnancy progresses.

The Pelvic Floor Connection (And Why Leaking Can Show Up)

The abdominal wall and pelvic floor don’t work in isolation.

They are part of the same pressure system.

When pressure isn’t distributed well through the abdominal wall, it can often be redirected downward toward the pelvic floor.

This is one reason some women experience symptoms like:

• urinary leaking
• pelvic heaviness
• pelvic girdle discomfort
• lower back pain

It’s not simply a matter of needing stronger pelvic floor muscles.

In many cases, the pelvic floor is already working very hard.

Instead, the focus becomes restoring coordination between breath, the abdominal wall, and the pelvic floor so pressure can move more efficiently throughout the system.

Postnatal Recovery: Why These Foundations Matter

The way your body manages pressure during pregnancy doesn’t just influence how movement feels now, it also shapes how the abdominal wall and pelvic floor recover after birth.

After delivery, the body begins the process of remodelling the connective tissue of the abdominal wall.

For many women, diastasis recti naturally improves over time.

But how well the tissue regains tension often depends on whether the body can coordinate breath, abdominal activation, and pelvic floor response.

When these foundations are already in place during pregnancy, they can make the transition into postnatal recovery much smoother.

This is exactly why AlignBirth focuses on supporting the whole pressure system, rather than simply targeting a “gap” in the abdominal wall.

The First 6 Weeks Postnatal Programme begins with the foundational elements of recovery, breath, gentle mobility, and nervous system regulation, before progressing into the 10-week rehabilitation programme designed to help you rebuild strength safely and confidently.

A Gentle Reminder

If you notice abdominal doming during pregnancy or postpartum movement, it doesn’t mean you’ve damaged your core or done anything wrong.

Your body is adapting in real time.

Sometimes it simply needs more support in how pressure is managed during movement.

There are no “bad” movements or exercises, every body responds differently, and what doesn’t feel quite right this week may feel completely different with the right support and coordination.

And if something is worrying you or not feeling quite right, please know you’re always welcome to reach out inside the community.

I’m here to support you!