Having four children — and a newborn at that — has done nothing to diminish Hilaria Baldwin’s commitment to health and fitness.
The 34-year-old took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a health-related video upon request of her fans who want to know how to prevent diastasis recti, a condition most commonly known as abdominal separation.
“Probably one of the most asked for exercises on my page is diastasis rect aka abdominal separation,” she wrote in the video caption.
The condition is characterized by a distance created between the right and left abdominal muscles when the fibrous structure that runs down the midline of the abdomen is stretched. This more commonly affects pregnant women and newborns. Think of a post-pregnancy paunch that just won’t retract, even after the woman has returned to her pre-pregnancy weight.
“I haven’t posted about this because I didn’t suffer from it with my pregnancies and wanted to do a lot of research before offering solutions,” Baldwin added.
The workout, she says, helps prevent this condition in post-pregnancy women, and consists of a series of movements that strengthen the mid section of the abdomen. In the video, Baldwin can be seen wearing nothing but a black bra and laced lilac underwear, showing off her toned, slim body.
In the video, she moves her abdomen back and forth a few times before engaging in a squat-type routine while keeping the abs firm. The important thing is to “contract and zipper up your abs, right through the middle of your tummy,” she advised, in all caps for emphasis.
She adds that you should think about where the separation is and concentrate on trying to “connect” it again, by activating the core muscles. Keep the abs contracted throughout the workout routine, or it won’t work, she says. Baldwin suggests repeating this twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
She included a “P.S.” with her video.
“wardrobe choice is to show proper form. All fashion police will be blocked,” she wrote.
Grateful fans flocked to her comment section to share their own experience with the condition, which can be painful and have an impact on the mother’s lifestyle, and yet is unreported and often undiagnosed due to lack of information and dismissal from health care professionals, as reported by Vox .
“I encourage anyone suffering — or who thinks they might have a diastasis recti — to seek treatment and advocate for yourself within the medical community,” one user who described her painful experience wrote.
