UK Sport Pregnancy Guidance for athletes and sports governing bodies

Target audiences: Athletes, Sports Governing Bodies (SGBs)

This guidance was supported by research completed by Loughborough University and UK Sport, the nation’s high-performance sports agency, funded by the Government and The National Lottery. It provides a framework to guide thinking and SGB Athlete Selection Policies, with supporting advice, factsheets, resources and tools. Whilst it is aimed at high-performance athletes, non-Olympic/Paralympic athletes and SGBs may find the guidance and factsheets helpful.

Pregnancy Guidance and Support for Sports Governing Bodies

The Pregnancy Guidance does not offer specific medical or obstetric advice, but it does include

• Advice on when an athlete should announce their pregnancy to their SGB
• Recommendations on developing an open and honest dialogue between athletes, SGBs and athlete support personnel, and organisations involved in an athlete’s training and competition, development, and health.
• A recommended framework which SGBs and athletes may wish to follow to ensure a responsible and reasonable approach is adopted during training and post-childbirth.
• A selection of useful resources, such as the athlete pregnancy checklist and risk assessment advice.
• Guidance on supplements, fertility, sleep, mental health, miscarriage and stillbirth, and other related aspects of pregnancy including fertility, and childbirth.

There are two UK Sport Pregnancy Guidance documents; one aimed specifically towards athletes, and the other at SGBs. There are also supporting Pregnancy Guidance factsheets which focus on pre-pregnancy and post-childbirth.