Has having a baby ruined my body?

Q

I had my baby six months ago but my stomach is still huge! My doctor says my abs muscles have separated, does it mean an op?

Tashanne, east London

A

The two long muscles down the front of your abdomen have a sheet of tough fibrous tissue between them. Sometimes, usually as a result of pregnancy but occasionally through being overweight or unwell, this tissue can stretch. The muscles separate and your belly bulges out between them.

The muscles are your rectus muscles and doctors call this separation ‘divarication of the recti’. If the separation isn’t too great then exercises to strengthen the ‘corset’ of muscles around your belly will get you back into shape, otherwise treatment could mean an op.