Introduction: Excessive separation of the abdominal muscles along the linea alba is called diastasis recti abdominis (DRA). DRA most often occurs in women during pregnancy and after childbirth. Any gap, no bulge/ridge above, below or in the navel area of less than 2.5 cm is normal. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis was to determine the awareness of pregnant women about DRA and its treatment during pregnancy and after childbirth. Methods: In the first part of the thesis, a descriptive work method was used, which was obtained through a critical review of scientific and professional literature about DRA. In the second part of the thesis, quantitative research was carried out. The data for the research were obtained with the help of an anonymous online survey. The questionnaire had 33 closed and semi-open questions. The questionnaire was published on the EnKlik Survey portal. Results: Out of 241 pregnant women, who completely filled out the questionnaire, 91 % had already heard of DRA. Most pregnant women (24 %) obtained information about DRA with the help of social networks. The occurrence of DRA during pregnancy was not checked with the majority of pregnant women (59 %) and only one fifth of pregnant women knew that they have the option of physiotherapeutic treatment in case of discovered DRA during pregnancy and/or after childbirth. One half of pregnant women were moderately physically active at least 3 times a week, but only a few of them regularly included exercises for the transversus abdominis muscles (9%) and pelvic floor muscles training (19%) in their physical activity. The Mann-Whitney U test did not show a statistically significant difference in knowledge about DRA between pregnant women with and without medical education (p=0.07), and between pregnant women who were pregnant for the first time and those who had been pregnant several times (p= 0.1). Using the Chi-square test, we found a statistically significant difference in activity that is physical exercising - comparing women who are pregnant for the first time to those who have been pregnant several times (p=0.01). Discussion and conclusion: The results of our survey showed that the vast majority of pregnant women had heard of DRA, but very few pregnant women obtained information from qualified health professionals. Although DRA is a very common occurrence in pregnancy and postpartum, DRA is still rarely checked. Pregnant women in our study rarely knew that in case of problems with DRA, they have the option of physiotherapy treatment. DRA should be given greater emphasis in the preventive health care of pregnant women.
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