- After hearing players’ experiences, FIFPRO discovered a lack of readily available advice and knowledge at clubs and national teams
- The 'Postpartum Return to Play Guide' was developed by a taskforce of professional women’s footballers and medical experts
- This guide is ‘so important to try to ease the pressure on players’, says midfielder Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir
FIFPRO has launched a 48-page guide to help professional footballers, as well as their families, team staff and other football stakeholders, better understand and manage pregnancy and the phase after childbirth.
The Postpartum Return to Play Guide was developed by a taskforce of professional women’s players who have experienced pregnancy and childbirth during their career. They include Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, Crystal Dunn, Cheyna Matthews and Almuth Schult. The full guide can be downloaded HERE.
The players’ experiences have been supported by existing scientific literature and a medical expert group comprised of Dr Pippa Bennett, Rosalyn Cooke, Prof Kirsty Elliot-Sale, Prof Dr Vincent Gouttebarge and Dr Rita Tomas, all of whom specialise in areas that are most relevant to the postpartum journey.
The FIFA Maternity Regulations, which were introduced in January 2021 after pressure from FIFPRO, have been in place to protect the rights of players who become pregnant during their careers.
While players worldwide are entitled to these maternity protections, many say guidance is needed for both them and the clubs and national teams working with them on how to best manage pregnancy before taking maternity leave (prepartum), what to expect after childbirth (postpartum), and how to best prepare for their return to football.
"For such a varied and complex subject matter, there is very little accessible guidance for players to follow – an issue that we hope this guide can begin to remedy," said Dr Alex Culvin, FIFPRO Director of Policy and Strategic Relations for Women's Football.
"For most professional players, their prime performance years will overlap significantly with their peak window of fertility. As a result, players will continue to seek to start a family during their playing careers with the desire to then return to their work."
Postpartum Return to Play Guide
FIFPRO has launched a 48-page guide to help professional footballers, as well as their families, team staff and other football stakeholders, better understand and manage pregnancy and the phase after childbirth.
After listening to players’ prepartum and postpartum experiences and reviewing scientific literature, FIFPRO discovered a lack of readily available advice and knowledge within professional football.
"Starting a family is a significant milestone in a player’s life, and one that should be celebrated and supported, but many players have felt that this has not been the case for them," Dr Culvin added.
"Many are returning to elite football stronger, despite a significant lack of standardised guidance, regulation and support, and amid pressure on them to manage their own return to play. By putting players at the heart of a holistic framework combining information and regulation, this guide can be a valuable resource for our rapidly growing industry."
What the mothers/players say
Cheyna Matthews, who has three children and represented Jamaica at the Women’s World Cup, said: "I was excited to join this project because it’s an initiative I didn’t have in my first pregnancy. I remember being so scared and nervous, and having no direction on what would be provided for me as a mom. To have this specifically for women returning to play after birth is so important and I think it’s the next steps in women’s sports."
Almuth Schult, a UEFA EURO winner with Germany and mother of three, said: "The first thing a club needs is not to say: ‘We will go to that topic if we have a pregnant woman’, because then it’s too late. They should be aware of this topic before: it means they’re a professional club, that they’re thinking about what help they can provide, and that mothers feel like they’re welcome."
Crystal Dunn, a Women’s World Cup winner with USA who gave birth to her son Marcel in the prime of her career at age 29 in 2022, said: "To raise a baby, it takes a village. You can’t do it on your own. The most important thing is having that plan in place so that a female athlete just comes back and all they have to do is follow step by step and feel safe and protected."
Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, who played 145 times for Iceland and in 2022 won a landmark case to receive maternity pay from former club Lyon, said: "These guidelines are so important to try to ease the pressure on players. If I put myself in a player’s position right now after this guide coming out, I would feel more at ease, more confident if I would get pregnant or if I wanted to get pregnant."
