SHARES
“The women keep coming”.
Or so was the comment of a friend on an article of Allyson Felix’s incredible feat.
It’s demanding enough being an elite athlete, but all that after giving birth – remarkable. Although, this shouldn’t come as a surprise – Serena Williams faced a threatening bleed in childbirth and has since gone on to 4 grand slam finals. Similarly, Allyson Felix’s stunning victory breaking Usain Bolt’s record, was only 10 months after giving birth to her daughter in November 2018.
This inspiring story of a woman athlete at the pinnacle of her career, going on to scale new heights, just after giving birth led me to question whether pregnancy really hinders a woman’s career?
In athletics, researchers confirm that the period after childbirth (the postpartum period) brings about better outcomes for elite athletes – physiologically and psychologically. Although, this isn’t something that happens to everyone. With that said, while there are known positive changes during postpartum, it may be the opposite for certain athletes. However, there are various factors that may help some elite athletes perform better post childbirth.
Contributory Factors to Better Performance Postpartum
For one, blood volume is increased by 40% coupled with a 33% increase in red blood cells during pregnancy. After birth, both blood volume and higher red blood cells continue to remain high for some time. What does this mean? Better circulation of oxygen throughout the body! Which is really good news for endurance athletes.
Secondly, most athletes tend not to rest enough, whilst women would take a good rest postpartum. The extra rest after delivery can help athletes in recovery and replenishing their strength.
Furthermore, an enhanced level of the female hormone progesterone in postpartum women can also contribute to the wider opening of blood vessels (vasodilation) which enhances blood flow and hence improves performance.
The next factor is better handling of heat stress. Pregnant women who does athletic training also have an added advantage. Since pregnant women have a higher body temperature and body heat is also up during training, they’d be better able to adjust to heat stress in the body. The ability to handle heat stress would be plainly advantageous for example to a marathon runner in hot weather.
Lastly, the hormonal spikes that come with breastfeeding gives elite athletes a very positive psychological boost. They experience a lift in mood and energy. Consequently, rendering them more focused and motivated.
While many may consider pregnancy to be a setback or hindrance to career aspirations and goals, we’ve seen women bounce back more renewed and focused. They go on to assume their respective roles with more strength, vigour and passion – whether an athlete or a board member, a homemaker or a business owner.
Allyson Felix, the 2019 new World Championships record holder is one such woman.
Women are resilient and the women will keep coming.
by Yashwini Ravindranath
Born & raised in Malaysia, Yashwini earned her M.D. studying in Moscow's Russian National Research Medical University. With an affiliation towards research, all things coffee and the startup ecosystem, she now contributes articles to GetDocSays View all articles by Yashwini Ravindranath.
