Stephanie Rothstein Bruce, a professional runner and mother of 2, is spreading awareness about what most women would consider to be an “embarrassing” problem.
Thirty-two-year-old mother Stephanie Bruce is a professional athlete who is currently training for the Olympics. In 2014, she decided to take some time off to start a family with her husband, and the pair conceived 2 sons who were born 15 months apart.
After giving birth to her two boys, Stephanie noticed what she described as a “Grand Canyon” in the center of her stomach, big enough for her to insert two fingers. It turns out that the young mother had developed diastasis recti.
Diastasis recti occurs as a result of pregnancy when the abdominal muscle walls separate to allow for the baby to grow. While some separation is normal, when the muscles lose their shape resulting in a permanent space, diastesis recti is the common diagnosis; so common, in fact, that more than half of all child-bearing women will experience it, says Web MD.
According to Today’s Parent, diastasis recti is more common amongst women who are pregnant with multiples, who have had recurrent abdominal surgery (like a C-Section) and those who have had more than one pregnancy. A telltale sign of the condition during pregnancy is when the stomach takes on “a cone or dome-shaped look” when the ab muscles are tightened.
Even though diastasis recti is so common in the female world, it is rarely ever talked about. But Bruce is trying to change that stigma by proudly showing the world her body— “imperfections” and all.
She told Inside Edition, “I believe there’s a secret club of women suffering from the same case that I have. If you have no one talking about it, you would have no idea why your skin is this loose and why you have back pain.”
On her blog, Bruce freely chronicles her training and discusses diastasis recti. Her Instagram features a slew of training pictures that proudly display her signs of motherhood— sagging skin and stretch marks included.
She tells Inside Edition, “A lot of the feedback was ‘Why does this stomach look like this? Why can’t she just cover it up?'”
The haters, however, pale against her supporters, like her coach Ben Rosario who told Inside Edition, “I’m sure there are other women dealing with the same thing Stephanie is and not talking about it. So it’s pretty brave of her.”
Today’s Parent says that diastasis recti can be improved with exercises that target the transverse abdominis, deep abdominal muscles that form the basis of your core. Many of these exercises are low-intensity, such as diaphragmatic breathing and lying on your back with your knees up. They also affirm that “regardless of how long you’ve had diastasis, it can be corrected.”
Bruce, on the other hand, just wants women to remember: “It doesn’t matter what you look like. It’s a matter of how you feel and how strong you are.”
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