How top-level athletes are rewriting pregnancy in sport narrative and forcing

If 2022 was the year women’s sport hit unprecedented heights, 2023 is shaping up to be the one where elite sportswomen, in full flight of their careers, are changing the notion of waiting until the final embers of their profession or retirement before starting a family.

Already, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, Rugby World Cup finalist Abbie Ward and 2020 AIG Women’s Open champion Sophia Popov have all announced they are expecting a baby later this year.

In going public with their news, they all shared a similar empowering message of expressing a desire to return to their own sporting theatre of dreams with baby in tow.

Ward, who narrowly missed out on World Cup glory for the Red Roses last November, posted on social media of her pregnancy in late January: “I can’t wait to have my mini-me pitch side next season and show that athletes can be mums too.”

Osaka, merely a couple of weeks earlier, similarly wrote: “I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom'”, while Popov added in her announcement post: “Looking forward to my comeback as an #lpgamom.”

For 29-year-old Ward, the 61 words she crafted on her social accounts were given careful consideration – with the overall message of her long-term commitment to rugby.

“It’s definitely been up until now that players (in rugby) would wait until the end of their careers before having children or cutting their careers short,” Ward told Sky Sports.

“I wanted to let people know, I am still training, still very much a Bristol Bear and a Red Rose, it’s going to be hard but a very exciting time ahead.”

Ward admitted to feeling nervous about telling her team-mates for fear of “letting them down”, but has been touched by the overwhelming support and warmth she has felt from her rugby family and the wider public.

“It’s about showing that it’s an option now, but not putting other athletes under pressure. If people choose to end their career and go down another route, then that’s also important. I don’t want to put pressure on other sportswomen to say you have to get back. I’m obviously putting pressure on myself, and I know it’s going to be very difficult, but I know there is that support structure around for me and everyone is so excited.”

Even nine-time Grammy winner Rihanna’s spectacular half-time show at the Super Bowl last month with baby bump on full display helped shift the perception of what a pregnant woman should or shouldn’t be doing.

“Pregnancy is something that a lot of people are talking about right now,” Ward added. “At the…