Balancing female basketball players’ career progression with family planning decisions

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Female professional athletes face unique challenges, including lack of funding for league improvements or player salaries, fewer opportunities in terms of exposure to or abundance of professional leagues, and gender norms that limit their engagement in professional sport careers. These limitations are exacerbated when childbearing during the peak years of their career comes into consideration. The goal of this research is to better understand the impact of family planning and pregnancy on career progression of professional female basketball players.

Research Questions: This thesis examined: What impact, if any, do female basketball players believe pregnancy, giving birth, and parenting may have on their career progression? Specifically, I explored (a) What potential implications on physical performance exist because of pregnancy? (b) What financial changes do athletes anticipate pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period could bring to a career in sport? (c) What supports are necessary to help female athletes balance pregnancy and motherhood with a career in sport?

Methods: This study employs a qualitative research design. Narrative inquiry was used to examine how athletes navigate decisions regarding pregnancy, childbearing, and the career progression. The study population included nine professional athletes who are considering or who have experienced childbearing, and who have or had a basketball career. Participants were recruited through personal social media accounts. Individuals were eligible for this study if they self-identified as a professional basketball player and felt they could speak on pregnancy or motherhood in sport through personal experiences. Semi-structured, individual interviews lasting approximately 45-60 minutes explored participants’ accounts regarding the factors influencing their pregnancy decisions and the effects childbearing may have on their careers. Narrative thematic analysis was used to capture common themes across interviews.

Findings: Three stories were created from a compilation of participants’ accounts at three stages of the decision-making process to have children. Five participants did not have children at the time of interviews, and four participants were mothers of one or more children. First, a professional basketball player before pregnancy and motherhood, a professional basketball player after pregnancy while still competing, and lastly, a retired professional basketball player who waited until after their career was over to have children. These three stories demonstrate multiple stages of this decision and how the participants navigate the decision-making experience. These three stories also highlight four main themes within the analysis. The themes highlighted are financial insecurity and structural constraints that exist within professional women’s basketball, global mobility in sport, the body as a site of uncertainty because of pregnancy, and lastly, the stigma surrounding pregnancy and motherhood in professional sport. Many participants experienced difficulty or conflict in making decisions about pregnancy and childbearing and participants often found balancing motherhood and professional basketball challenging. Lastly, their perspectives on pregnancy and motherhood in sport was largely influenced by their personal situations and experiences and therefore is different for every athlete.

Conclusions: The findings from this study contribute to understanding the unique challenges female athletes might face when making decisions about pregnancy and childbearing. The findings can also be leveraged to advocate for improved support systems and practices in professional sports to ensure female athletes who choose to become pregnant and give birth are supported in maintaining their athletic career. Ultimately, this research highlights the need for further exploration into the intersection of gender, sport, and reproductive choices.