From Brigitte McMahon to Serena Williams Mothers in top-class sport: top performances are also possible with a baby in the womb

The list of sporting mothers is getting longer and longer. There are also more and more women who are continuing their careers while pregnant. SPORTLERIN magazine gets to the bottom of the matter.

Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez briefly gained international fame last summer. She let her followers know via Instagram that she would be competing pregnant at the Olympic Games in Paris. Reactions to the post ranged from enthusiasm to rejection. The 26-year-old fencer then made it to the last 16 of the sabre tournament at the Games. The Egyptian responded to the criticism with another post in which she wrote: "I'm not the only athlete who took part pregnant. There are many other international athletes who have been active pregnant for so long. There are no medical obstacles."

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Hafez was right. Probably the most famous Swiss woman to compete in the Olympic Games as an expectant mother was Brigitte McMahon from central Switzerland in the late summer of 2000. When the triathlete surprisingly won Olympic gold on the first day of the Sydney Games, she was already pregnant with her daughter Jennifer. At the time, no one except her and her inner circle knew this.

Some 25 years later, mothers are still the exception in sport. And yet there are more and more women who are continuing their careers while pregnant. Why should one exclude the other? As long as there is no medical reason not to, pregnant women should continue to pursue their passion.

Once the offspring is born, there is nothing to stop them from playing a dual role. In an interview with Swiss television last summer, former top runner Maja Neuenschwander, who headed the "Women and elite sport" project at Swiss Olympic, said that the course of a pregnancy is crucial. "If everything goes smoothly, competitive sport is still possible without any health concerns."

Kim Clijsters still won three Grand Slam titles as a mother

The list of sporting mothers is getting longer and longer. The best-known Swiss examples apart from McMahon are triathlete Nicola Spirig, orienteer Simone Niggli-Luder and pole vaulter Nicole Büchler. They all continued their successful careers after the birth of their first child. In tennis, Belgian Kim Clijsters won three Grand Slam titles after the birth of her first daughter.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the professional women's tennis organization, makes it easier for its players to re-enter the tournament circuit with a so-called protected ranking. After returning to the tour, players can register for a maximum of twelve tournaments for three years with the ranking they played with when their careers were interrupted. Bencic dropped to 913th position during her pregnancy and would have had to start at the bottom again.

Tennis star travels the world with her daughterBelinda Bencic: Being a mother gives her strength

Neuenschwander, now head of the Athlete Hub at Swiss Olympic, goes on to say that the biggest challenge for mothers in sport is probably the financial outlay. "Childcare solutions have to be found during training and competition times - daycare solutions are often of little help here. Female athletes train at off-peak times and are often engaged abroad."

So you have to be able to afford to do top-class sport and be a mother at the same time. That's why it's probably more than just a coincidence that mothers are now quite common in tennis. The WTA Tour now has around 20 women who have children and are still active. The best known of them are the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, the German Tatjana Maria and the Japanese Naomi Osaka. The German Angelique Kerber and the American Serena Williams have since withdrawn.

Williams, the grand dame of women's tennis for years, was in the eighth week of her pregnancy in 2017 when she won the Australian Open without dropping a single set. The title in Melbourne was her 23rd and last at a major tournament.

Just 20 years ago, there were hardly any mothers on the tennis tour or anywhere else in professional competitive sport. This is probably also due to the fact that careers tend to last longer nowadays. Two decades ago, the average age of the top 100 on the WTA Tour was still under 24, but it has now risen to 27. Belinda Bencic is therefore right on average. Nothing prevents her from continuing to play for another five or even ten years.

Sporting activity or simply physical exercise is healthy in both normal and high-risk pregnancies. However, there is no conclusive scientific evidence as to how often and with what intensity exercise should and may be done. In general, at least 30 minutes of exercise a day is recommended - for example fast walking, cycling, swimming or other sports. Jogging is also an option for well-trained pregnant women, although this can become increasingly strenuous from the 20th week of pregnancy. Extreme sports such as paragliding or diving, bodybuilding, martial arts and inline skating are not recommended during pregnancy. Sports with a risk of injury such as downhill mountain biking should also be avoided.

Just a few years ago, a general recommendation was to refrain from sport during pregnancy, as there were fears of disadvantages for mother and child. Likewise, bed rest was usually prescribed for many pregnancy complications such as the risk of premature birth or high blood pressure. This was based on the assumption that bed rest had a preventative effect. Today, however, it is scientifically proven that sport and exercise are healthy for mother and child. The risk of frequently mentioned complications such as premature birth, maternal high blood pressure, thrombosis, growth disorders in the child, diabetes during pregnancy or loss of muscle mass and bone density can be minimized or prevented.

Lots of valuable advice

Swiss Olympic is strongly committed to women's issues. For example, with the "Women and elite sport" program. One of the many topics covered is pregnancy - including a detailed information sheet for pregnant athletes. It is aimed at all self-employed female athletes who, as such, are subject to Swiss social insurance and contains lots of valuable advice. Self-employed team sportswomen, for example, are subject to the Maternity Protection Ordinance. Pregnant women are advised to refrain from activities involving increased physical exertion that pose a potential risk to mother and child during pregnancy - naturally in consultation with coaches, doctors and associations.

It is possible to take out private insurance for loss of earnings due to illness during pregnancy or in general (daily allowance insurance) to cover the loss of self-employed earnings. There is also an entitlement to maternity compensation. The information sheet can be found on the Swiss Olympic website.