The breathing method everyone recommends, and what it can realistically do
Hypopressives get talked about like a shortcut for closing a gap. Here is what the research actually supports, what it does not, and where your time and money go further.
Quick answer
Hypopressives, also sold as Low Pressure Fitness, are a breathing and posture method that pairs a breath hold with a rib-cage lift held in set positions. They are a reasonable way to practise managing pressure through your abdomen, and plenty of mums find them calming and gentle on a tender core. But there is no strong evidence that hypopressives close a diastasis recti faster than ordinary deep core and pelvic floor training, and neither the NHS nor ACOG names them in standard postnatal guidance. If your time and budget are limited, start with breath-led deep core work and pelvic floor training, then treat hypopressives as an optional extra rather than the main plan.
of women still had diastasis recti at 6 weeks postpartum (Sperstad et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016)
still had it at 12 months, meaning a large share resolves on its own over the first year (Sperstad et al., 2016)
of moderate activity per week is the postpartum target set by ACOG, with a gradual return after birth
What hypopressives actually are
A hypopressive is a specific sequence, not a single exercise. You exhale fully, hold the breath out, then open the ribs as though you were breathing in without letting any air enter. That creates a suction effect that visibly draws the abdominal wall inward and upward. The postures around it are prescribed too, with particular arm, spine and foot positions layered on top.
The method was developed in Europe by Marcel Caufriez and reached English-speaking postnatal fitness mostly through the Low Pressure Fitness branding. Its selling point is right there in the name: instead of adding pressure into the abdomen the way a crunch does, it is designed to lower it. That idea is genuinely relevant postpartum, because pressure is the mechanism behind a lot of what goes wrong. If you want the underlying concept in plain English, our explainer on intra-abdominal pressure after birth covers it without the jargon.
What the evidence shows, and what it does not
Here is the honest position. The trials on hypopressive exercise are mostly small, short, and run on mixed populations rather than specifically on postpartum women with diastasis recti. Some report improvements in pelvic floor measures and in how women rate their symptoms. What reviews of that literature have not established is that hypopressives outperform pelvic floor muscle training, which remains the first-line recommendation in mainstream guidance from the NHS and ACOG. Hypopressives are not named in either.
There is a second thing worth knowing before you judge any method by results alone: a substantial proportion of diastasis recti narrows without any specific program at all. Sperstad and colleagues, publishing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2016, followed first-time mothers and found prevalence dropping steadily across the first year.
60%
45.5%
32.6%
Source: Sperstad et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016.
That matters when you read testimonials. A mum who starts hypopressives at three months and notices a smaller gap at nine months may be seeing the method work, natural recovery, or both. Nobody, including us, can separate those from an anecdote. Results vary from mum to mum.
Where hypopressives genuinely help
Being sceptical about the marketing is not the same as dismissing the practice. There are real reasons mums stick with it.
- It teaches you to feel your deep core. The breath hold produces a very obvious inward draw, which is useful if you have been trying to find your transverse abdominis and feeling nothing at all.
- It is low load. Nothing about it will cause the bulging along the midline that heavier work can trigger. If you are not sure what that looks like, see coning versus doming.
- It builds rib and posture awareness. The rib-lift component asks you to unstack a rib cage that has spent nine months flaring outward.
- It is calming. Slow, controlled breathing has value for a nervous system running on broken sleep, whatever it does for your abdominal wall.
Where the claims outrun the evidence
Three claims come up repeatedly and deserve a flag. First, that hypopressives lift the pelvic organs back into place. The visible inward draw is real, but a temporary suction during a breath hold is not the same as a lasting change in organ position, and that has not been demonstrated. Second, that hypopressives replace pelvic floor exercises. Guidance does not support swapping them out, and if you leak or feel heaviness, direct pelvic floor training and a physio assessment come first. Our piece on how the pelvic floor and diastasis recti are linked explains why the two are usually treated together. Third, that hypopressives close the gap. The gap responds to how well your connective tissue can transfer tension, which is built through progressive, breath-coordinated loading, not through one technique in isolation.
There is also a practical catch. Hypopressives are hard to self-teach. The breath hold, the rib opening and the postural setup all have to happen at once, and a badly performed version is mostly just an uncomfortable breath hold. That usually means paying a certified instructor, which changes the cost conversation entirely.
Hypopressives compared with the alternatives
| Hypopressives / Low Pressure Fitness | Pelvic floor muscle training | Structured postpartum core program | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A full exhale, breath hold and rib lift held in prescribed postures | Repeated, cued contractions of the pelvic floor muscles | Breath, deep core, glute and whole-body work sequenced over weeks |
| Evidence base | Small, short trials; not shown to beat pelvic floor muscle training; not named in NHS or ACOG postnatal guidance | The strongest evidence base in postnatal care and the first-line recommendation | Built on the same breath and progressive-load principles that underpin standard rehab |
| How you access it | Classes or sessions with a certified instructor | Free NHS guidance, or a women's health physio appointment | A one-time digital guide, or a monthly subscription app |
| Learning curve | Steep, genuinely difficult to learn from a video | Simple to begin, easy to do wrong without cueing | Moderate, because the order is decided for you |
| Best for | Mums who like slow, breath-led practice and can access a trained teacher | Every postpartum mum, and essential if you leak or feel heaviness | Mums who want a whole plan rather than one technique |
A sensible order to work in
If you are starting from scratch, the sequence below wastes the least time. Begin with breathing that coordinates your diaphragm and pelvic floor, which is covered in our guide to the first postpartum core exercise. Add pelvic floor training and get assessed if you have symptoms. Then progress deliberately into loaded movement, glutes and daily-life positions. Only after that is it worth deciding whether hypopressives add something for you personally. If cost is the deciding factor, our comparison of free versus paid diastasis recti programs is a useful reality check.
One more thing worth understanding while you plan: your connective tissue is still changing in the months after birth, which is why patience beats intensity early on. We cover what is and is not still true about that in how long relaxin stays in your body after birth.
The verdict
Hypopressives are a legitimate practice with a thinner evidence base than their marketing suggests. They are not a shortcut, they are not a replacement for pelvic floor training, and they are an expensive first purchase because they usually require an instructor. Use them if you enjoy them and can afford them. If you can only do one thing, do breath-led deep core and pelvic floor work consistently, because that is what the evidence actually backs.
A whole plan, once, for the price of one class
Mumma Glow exists for mums who want the evidence-backed basics laid out in order without a subscription attached. Core Reconnect is a one-time digital guide that takes you from breathing and deep core reconnection through to loaded movement, at $15. Individual guides start at $15 and the full bundle is $50, with code GLOW20 for 20% off. Buy it once, keep it, use it with your next baby too. It is the affordable, no-subscription alternative to programs like MUTU, and it is education rather than medical treatment. Results vary from mum to mum.
Frequently asked questions
Can hypopressives close a diastasis recti on their own?
There is no good evidence that they can. Some of the narrowing mums notice while practising hypopressives reflects natural recovery, which Sperstad and colleagues showed continues across the whole first year. A progressive program that coordinates breath with gradually increasing load is the better-supported approach, and results vary from mum to mum.
Are hypopressives safe after a C-section?
They are low load, which is a point in their favour, but the breath hold is not appropriate for everyone and scar healing takes time. Wait until you have been cleared at your postnatal check and, ideally, have been assessed by a women's health physiotherapist before adding any breath-hold work.
Should I do hypopressives instead of pelvic floor exercises?
No. NHS and ACOG guidance both put pelvic floor muscle training first, and nothing in the hypopressive literature justifies dropping it. If you leak, feel heaviness or have pain, see a women's health physiotherapist rather than swapping one method for another.
Can I learn hypopressives from YouTube?
You can learn the shape of it, but the technique is unusually fiddly and most people get the rib opening wrong without hands-on cueing. If you want to try the method properly, budget for at least a few sessions with a certified instructor.
Are hypopressives worth the money?
That depends on what else you have covered. If you have not yet built consistent breathing, pelvic floor work and progressive core loading, your money does more for you elsewhere. If those are already in place and you enjoy breath-led practice, hypopressives are a reasonable optional addition rather than a necessary one.
Sources: Sperstad JB, Tennfjord MK, Hilde G, Ellstrom-Engh M, Bo K. Diastasis recti abdominis during pregnancy and 12 months after childbirth. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016. NHS, Keeping fit and healthy with a baby, and Pelvic floor exercises. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. Cleveland Clinic, Diastasis Recti.
This article is general education, not medical advice. Mumma Glow is not affiliated with Low Pressure Fitness or any hypopressive certifying body. Results vary from mum to mum. If you have pain, leaking, a feeling of heaviness, or you are unsure where to start, please speak to your GP, midwife or a women's health physiotherapist.