Research Projects
Mums without RD
This is a study looking at Australian women with normal abdominal muscles after pregnancy. This population will become the reference to which we can compare our women with rectus diastasis.
Who are we looking for?
Australian women over the age of 18
Women who have had at least 1 child who is 12 months or older.
Women with normal abdominal muscles (NO rectus diastasis).
Women who have not had previous abdominal surgery such as abdominoplasty (Tummy-tuck) or hernia repairs (Caesarean sections are ok).
If you have read the Participant Information Sheet in full and would like to participate in the study, please enrol here.
Already a participant? Go straight to our Mums without RD -participants page
Ethical approval for this study has been granted by the RACGP National Research & Evaluation Ethics Committee (NREEC 21-100)
Recruitment for the following studies has been completed:
Repairing the gap
This study will examine women with rectus diastasis undergoing abdominoplasty (tummy-tuck) and examine the health-related quality of life outcomes before and after the operation.
Who are we looking for?
Australian women over the age of 18
Women who have had at least 1 child who is 12 months or older.
Women diagnosed with rectus diastasis, confirmed with abdominal ultrasound (inter-rectus distance is >30mm at any point along the linea alba).
Women who have not had any previous abdominal surgery including weight loss surgery (Caesarean sections are ok).
Women who have failed to respond to non-surgical conservative treatment such as physiotherapy.
Women who are not needing abdominoplasty primarily for problems related to massive weight loss (over-hanging apron with rashes).
AND
Women booked to undergo an abdominoplasty with muscle repair with an Australian Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS(Plas)) who agrees to take part in the study.
OR
Women not planning to undergo surgery for at least 12-months.
If you have read the Participant Information Sheet in full and would like to participate in the study, please contact one of our researchers below.
If you are a Specialist Plastic Surgeon and would like to contribute to this study, please contact one of our researchers below.
Ethical approval for this study has been granted by the Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee (2021/HRE00325).
First time Mums
This study aims to follow first-time Mums from pregnancy until 1-year after birth to find out how often rectus diastasis occurs, what risk factors are associated with it, and if it impacts women’s quality of life.
Who are we looking for?
Australian women over the age of 18
First time Mum’s who are in early pregnancy (<15 weeks gestation)
We have completed recruiting participants for this study, and are in the process of following them up. Thank you to all the women who have registered for this study!
Already a participant? Go straight to the First Time Mums - Participants page.
If you have had your baby and would like some information and support, please check out the resources via the link below:
Ethical approval for this study has been granted by the Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee (2021/HRE00275)
Interview study
In depth interview style project aiming to understand the experiences of women living with rectus diastasis and how it affects their quality of life.
Who are we looking for?
Australian women over the age of 18
Diagnosed
with rectus diastasis or abdominal separation after pregnancy
If you have read the Participant Information Sheet in full and would like to participate in the study, please fill in the survey.
Already a participant? Go straight to the Interview Study - Participants page.
Ethical approval has been granted for this study by the Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee (2021/HRE00236).
If you have any questions about the projects featured on this page. Please contact one of our researchers: