Research Project - Exploring factors that influence the return of elite female athlete to high-performance sport postpartum

Published Tue 29 Nov 2022

Current or past high performance, elite female athletes, coaches, and sport organisation staff in Australia are invited to participate in a research project exploring the barriers and enablers that influence the return of elite female athlete to high-performance sport postpartum.

The goal of this research is to identify and understand what factors influence the return of elite female athletes to high-performance sport postpartum in order to develop best practice guidelines that will inform sport organisations on what best will support the return of elite female athletes to high-performance sport postpartum.

This research is important as limited research and policies exist around mother-athletes. Further, Australia currently does not have best practice guidelines that advise sport organisations in what best supports female athletes to return to high-performance sport postpartum.

Inclusion criteria:

You are eligible to participate in this study if you are 18 years or older; understand written and verbal English; are physically and cognitively capable of participating in an online focus group of no more than 90 minutes, and identify as:

A female athlete, who is competing or has competed at the national or international level for Australia, no more than 5 years ago, who:
- is currently attempting or has returned to the same level of sport 2 years after giving birth
- attempted to return to the same level of sport 2 years after giving birth but was unsuccessful
- is pregnant, or maybe considering/planning to start a family
- has retired from sport and since has given birth within 2 years of retiring
A coach, support or organisation staff who work for a state or national sport organisation in Australia and is affiliated with women’s sport/athletes (e.g., S&C, nutrition, medical, administration, leadership, or governance).