Grant: Project Grant

As support for female athletes grow, many athletic careers have extended such that the window of peak performance overlaps with the window of fertility. The only available consensus statement on practices to support recreational and elite athletes were published by the International Olympic Committee in 2015. Given the limited available evidence the recommendations mirrored current exercise guidelines for the general population. But these guidelines are not "fit for purpose" for elite athletes who engage in high intensity, duration, and or volumes of training that substantially exceed the globally recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. Since 2015, there has been an explosion of research in mother-athletes. These novel data demonstrate prenatal sport participation is not associated with adverse events during pregnancy or delivery. Recognizing the critical need to "rehabilitate" following childbirth, return-to-sport frameworks specific to postpartum runners have begun to emerge. Thus, we aim to assemble an international Expert Panel to develop an updated Consensus Statement on Recreational and Elite Sport Participation During Pregnancy & Postpartum outlining best practice recommendations and supports for recreational to elite-level athletes during and following pregnancy. The aims of the expert committee are to: 1) Provide two up-to-date systematic reviews examining the impact of recreational and elite sport participation on perinatal health and performance outcomes. 2) Conduct a two-day meeting that brings together Stakeholders (a sports medicine physician, a physiotherapist, Olympic coach, Olympian and Paralympian athlete-mothers, sport administrator, IOC representative) from diverse sports and cultures to develop a Consensus Statement of practices, guidance, and supports related to pregnancy and postpartum sport participation.