Choosing between sport and family? Perceived barriers to parenthood among female elite ice hockey players
A study of 135 female elite ice hockey players in Sweden reveals that the majority perceive parenthood as incompatible with their careers, primarily due to financial difficulties, with older age being a significant factor associated with this perception.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
For many women, the years when they are at their physical peak in sports often overlap with the years when they are thinking about starting a family. In the world of elite athletics, this creates a difficult tension. High-level competition demands a total commitment of time, energy, and focus, often requiring athletes to push their bodies to the absolute limit. At the same time, the biological reality of pregnancy and the demands of raising a child introduce a different set of physical and logistical challenges. While more female athletes are returning to competition after having children, the path remains uncertain. Many worry that the intense training required to stay at the top could harm a pregnancy, or that the structure of their sport simply does not allow for the time off needed for childbirth and recovery. This uncertainty is not just a personal worry; it is a structural issue that can force women to choose between their careers and their families, potentially delaying or preventing them from having children at all.
Researchers in Sweden decided to look closely at this dilemma within the specific context of elite women's ice hockey. Ice hockey is a sport defined by speed, physical contact, and high intensity, which naturally raises questions about safety during pregnancy. Furthermore, unlike the men's professional game, the women's league in Sweden operates with significantly fewer financial resources, meaning many players must work other jobs or study while competing. To understand how these factors influence a player's view on parenthood, a team of scientists surveyed 135 players from the top Swedish women's league. They asked a direct question: given the current rules, money, and support systems in place, do you believe it is possible to be a parent and still compete at this elite level? They also gathered information about the players' ages, how much they trained, their financial situations, and their access to medical care to see if any of these factors made a difference in how they answered.
The results painted a clear picture of a sport where the path to parenthood feels blocked. When asked if combining motherhood with elite ice hockey was feasible, nearly three out of four players said no. Only about one in four players believed it was possible under the current conditions. For those who felt it was impossible, the most common reason was money. More than half of the players who said no pointed to financial difficulties as the primary barrier. They explained that the income from playing hockey is often not enough to live on, forcing them to balance work or school alongside their sport. Adding the costs and time commitments of a child to an already tight schedule felt overwhelming. While physical concerns about pregnancy and a lack of time were also mentioned, they were far less frequent than the worry about finances.
The study also looked at whether a player's age or health history changed their perspective. The researchers found that older players were slightly more likely to see parenthood as incompatible with their career than younger players. This difference was small in terms of years, but it suggests that as athletes get older, the question of starting a family becomes more immediate and pressing. Interestingly, the study found that a player's current financial status or how much they trained did not independently change their opinion on this issue. Even though money was the biggest complaint, the specific amount a player earned or whether they could support themselves solely through hockey did not statistically separate those who said yes from those who said no. This suggests that the problem is a general feeling that the system is not built for parents, rather than just an issue for the poorest players.
Perhaps the most telling detail was that none of the players in the survey had children yet. This means their answers were based on what they imagined would happen, not on the actual experience of balancing a baby with elite training. The researchers noted that while they found a strong link between age and the perception of incompatibility, the study could not prove that age causes this feeling. It simply observed that the feeling was more common among the older group. The study also highlighted that while many players reported menstrual irregularities, a condition often linked to intense training, this health factor did not seem to drive their views on parenthood. Instead, the barriers appeared to be rooted in the organization of the sport itself. The findings suggest that for female ice hockey players, the dream of having a family while staying at the top is currently viewed as unrealistic, largely because the financial and organizational support systems are not there to make it work. The researchers conclude that to change this perception, the sport needs to address these structural gaps, ensuring that athletes who wish to combine parenthood with their careers have a realistic path forward.
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