Recent research shows up to 2/3 of women have a form of diastasis recti in the latter part of pregnancy. How can you safely exercise with this condition during pregnancy? As your uterus grows during pregnancy, organs in your body move to make room for it. As your uterus expands outward, it adds pressure to the abdominal wall and stretches your abdominal wall. If these muscles stretch enough to the point that they separate more than 2.5 centimeters along the linea alba, this is called diastasis recti.