Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to explore the experiences and beliefs of elite female athletes, athlete support staff and sport organisational staff regarding preconception and pregnancy in Australian elite athletes. Secondary objectives were to identify barriers and enablers encountered by elite athletes during preconception and pregnancy, and to use the study findings to develop recommendations to inform future pregnancy policies within sporting organisations.

Methods: 58 participants comprising 27 elite athletes, 20 support staff (eg, coaches, physicians, physiotherapists) and 11 sport organisational staff (eg, general managers, athlete well-being officers) from 25 sports participated in either a focus group (n=45) or semi-structured interview (n=13) conducted between 14 August 2023 and 21 November 2023. Focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: The vast majority of athletes felt that organisational support for preconception and pregnancy was inadequate. Their feedback was categorised into four distinct themes: (1) planning, fertility and disclosure; (2) mindset; (3) training during preconception and pregnancy and (4) access to support and information. Within these themes, participants highlighted barriers (eg, lack of knowledge, impaired fertility, pregnancy symptoms) and opportunities for organisations to improve the current level of support provided (eg, education, fertility treatments, training flexibility). Overall, 22 recommendations were developed to guide Australian sporting organisations in future pregnancy policies.

Conclusion: Australian elite female athletes continue to face numerous barriers during preconception and pregnancy. Sporting organisations can use the findings and recommendations within this study to develop pregnancy policies, which better support female athletes.

Keywords: athletes; female; pregnancy; sports.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.

目标： 本研究的主要目的是探讨澳大利亚精英女运动员、运动员支持团队和体育组织工作人员关于孕前和怀孕的经验和信念。次要目标是识别精英运动员在孕前和怀孕期间遇到的障碍和促进因素，并利用研究成果制定建议，以指导未来体育组织中的孕期政策。

方法： 共有58名参与者来自25个不同的运动项目，其中包括27名精英运动员、20名支持人员（例如教练、医生、理疗师）和11名体育组织工作人员（例如总经理、运动员福利官员）。这些参与者于2023年8月14日至2023年11月21日期间通过焦点小组讨论(n=45)或半结构化访谈(n=13)参与了研究。所有焦点小组和访谈均被录音并逐字转录，随后使用主题分析法进行了分析。

结果： 大多数运动员认为组织对孕前和孕期的支持不足。他们的反馈分为四个不同的主题：(1) 计划、生育与披露；(2) 心态；(3) 孕前及孕期的训练；以及 (4) 获取支持与信息的机会。在这些主题下，参与者指出了障碍（例如缺乏知识、生育能力下降、怀孕症状）和组织改善现有支持力度的机会（例如教育、生育治疗、训练灵活性）。总的来说，研究团队提出了22项建议，旨在指导澳大利亚体育组织制定未来的孕期政策。

结论： 澳大利亚的精英女运动员在孕前和孕期仍然面临许多障碍。体育组织可以利用本研究中的发现与建议来开发更好的支持女性运动员的孕期政策。

关键词： 运动员；女性；怀孕；运动