Biomechanics and training programmes of elite athletes during pregnancy and the postpartum period

Elite sportswomen currently receive vague, often contradictory guidance about how to train during pregnancy and after childbirth because almost no scientific data exists on how their bodies actually respond to exercise during these periods. This matters because the lack of evidence leaves athletes—and the coaches, physiotherapists, and doctors supporting them—making decisions based on anecdote rather than biomechanics. The same gap affects military servicewomen and active individuals who want to maintain fitness safely during and after pregnancy. Without data, guidance defaults to overly cautious generalisations that may unnecessarily restrict activity or, conversely, fail to warn against genuinely risky movements. The project combines focus groups with longitudinal biomechanical analysis, tracking how elite athletes’ musculoskeletal systems change across pregnancy and the postpartum period. If successful, it will produce sport-specific training programmes grounded in real physiological data rather than guesswork. This could reshape how governing bodies, military fitness programmes, and sports medicine practitioners advise pregnant and postnatal women—replacing vague warnings with precise, evidence-based recommendations for safe and effective training.