Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health

Having been in this field for 2 decades, I, like many, assumed that a hard hit during pregnancy would not go well. Our data show the risk is low. It’s not zero — it’s just far less than generally perceived.

The study 👇
395 participants who participated in contact or collision sports during pregnancy.
They self-reported information on
✨ demographics,
✨ sport participation (type, hours, and contact exposure) from pre-conception to postpartum,
✨ maternal and infant health outcomes,
✨ feelings towards continuing/stopping participation in sport, and
✨ medical advice received during the perinatal period.

RESULTS:
1️⃣ The rate of adverse events was very low: 1.11 per 1000 hours of exposure.
2️⃣ Continuing contact sport during pregnancy was linked to better mental health status.
3️⃣ Over half of respondents had concerns about playing, yet 90% felt “happy” or “very happy” about continuing sport.
4️⃣Continued participation in contact activities was not associated with an increased risk of other maternal or fetal complications during pregnancy or the postpartum period.

These data challenge outdated beliefs that all contact in sport is inherently risky.

Did you or will you continue to play contact sports while pregnant? Tell me why/why not below ⤵️

PLEASE TAG someone below who needs to know this!

REF: Jones, P.A.T., Brockwell, E., Dufour, S. et al. What are the Risks of Contact Sport During Pregnancy: a Survey-Based Investigation. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02262-x

Decades of pregnancy advice have been driven by fear rather than evidence and explains why many restrictions persist despite modern research.
For athletes without medical contraindications, the goal isn’t unnecessary restriction—it’s evidence-based, athlete-centred decision-making. In some cases, unnecessary detraining may carry its own physical and mental health consequences.

Research grounded in the experiences of mothers in sport is necessary for informing evidence-based policies and practices to support the equitable participation of women in sport.
➡️Findings from the current study, combined with the limited yet powerful research from the last two decades have exposed the hetero-patriarchal and masculine sport cultures that are attempting to limit mother-coaches’ opportunities in high-performance sport.

✨ Importantly, findings from this research demonstrate that mothers, including mother-coaches are worthy of thorough and sustained scholarly inquiry.

Know a female coach who should be in the know? Tag her below or share this post 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 THANK YOU!

Obstetrical care providers can offer evidence-based counselling and using tools like the Get Active Questionnaire for Pregnancy and Postpartum to support safe participation during the perinatal period, improving mental health outcomes.

Please Share with your favourite Obstetrical care providers and pregnant friends and let’s help more women feel better together.

We’ve shifted away from asking, ‘Can this person exercise?’ to asking, ‘Is there any medical reason they shouldn’t?’
➡️For the vast majority of pregnancies, the answer is no. Exercise is the recommendation, not something that requires routine medical approval.

This major paradigm shift occurred when we published the 2019 Canadian Guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy.

Routine medical clearance before beginning or continuing exercise during pregnancy was removed for individuals without contraindications.
Rather than requiring permission to be active, physical activity became the standard recommendation, with medical assessment reserved for those with absolute or relative contraindications.

✨ This change represents a move away from fear-based restrictions toward evidence-informed, individualized care.

Athletes have always said they don’t know how to take that very vague information and apply it on the day-to-day basis on the field.
Since this has been released, I know that there are a number of pro players who are actually following it, And it really helps to reduce the uncertainty in terms of what you can do in some ways and acknowledge and be OK with the flexibility of the postpartum.

Thanks CBC Sports CBC for sharing our new tools and research we published for FÍFA!

If you haven’t seen it yet, I’m happy to share!

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) created recommendations for physical activity and exercise during pregnancy in 1985.
At that time, pregnant women were advised to not exceed a heart rate of 140 beats per minute with physical activity. The heart rate recommendation was subsequently removed with the recommendations published in 1994, 2002, and 2015.

Our 2019 Canadian Guideline recommends that pregnant individuals without contraindications accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week and
🎵 moderate-intensity is defined as an effort where you can talk but not sing, instead of a specific heart rate.

The new FIFA Training Centre Female Health Programme is now available in English, French AND in Spanish! And it’s free, evidence-based, and open to everyone.

This incredible resource brings together leading experts from around the world to support the health and performance of women in sport.

I’m thrilled to have contributed to the Fertility chapter and the Pregnancy and Postpartum chapters with content informed by our research. Because athletes deserve evidence-based guidance through every stage of life.

Whether you’re an athlete, coach, healthcare provider, parent, or sport leader, this is a resource worth exploring.

Comment “modules” below and I’ll send you the links🔗

WE ARE RECRUITING PREGNANT AND NON-PREGNANT RUNNERS FOR A STUDY IN EDMONTON!

We are recruiting pregnant AND non-pregnant women in the Edmonton area to participate in an in-person study examining the impact of running on maternal and fetal health.

If you are interested in learning more about the study, follow the link in our bio or email us at [email protected]

Eligibility: 18+ years, >13 weeks gestation (pregnant), > 1 year experience running 5km or longer. NOTE: We will be recruiting non-pregnant runners that match in age and distance to our pregnant runners!

Time commitment: 2 visits (~1.5 hours each)

PI: Dr. Margie Davenport

Ethics: Pro00158152

While various international and national guidelines offer general recommendations on what to do physically and why, they all lack actionable frameworks on the ‘how’.

Because of that, the typical default is to pull players completely from their teams once they become pregnant — which is not only unnecessary, but often counterproductive to an athlete’s health and long-term performance.

Our research supports continued training throughout pregnancy to reduce the risk of complications and to prevent injury postpartum.

Have you already read the guides?

Comment FÍFA below and I’ll send you the decision aid for pregnancy and the table too.