"Happiness because I could play again": professional mother footballers' experiences of pregnancy and postpartum.

Introduction: Women's football is at a pivotal moment in both sporting and social discourse, with its rapidly expanding fan base making it on track to become one of the world's top-five women's sports by 2030. Yet as the sport's commercial value grows, critical questions remain about how the game accommodates athletes' life events. Pregnancy is of particular interest as the physiological changes during pregnancy necessitate medical and performance considerations that coincides with a historical belief that starting a family means retirement from sport. This study aims to fill a critical gap in research by documenting the experiences of professional mother footballers as they navigate pregnancy and return-to-football postpartum with the ultimate goal to provide a foundation for evidence-informed protocols to safeguard their health and professional aspirations. Methods: Qualitative description was employed as the methodological approach, as this design is well-suited for topics with limited existing research and prioritizes rich, plain-language representation of participant experiences. Findings generated through qualitative description are grounded in "everyday language" and are particularly relevant to policy makers and practitioners. 9 professional mother footballers participated in the study. Players were 38.6 ± 4.5 years of age and had 13.2 ± 5.4 years of football experience across three continents. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were utilized to explore the pregnancy and postpartum experiences of professional mother footballers. A three phase (preparation, organization, and reporting) process of content analysis was employed for data analysis. Results: Our findings revealed four interrelated themes that represent mother footballers experiences of pregnancy and return-to-football postpartum: (a) "It's not one size fits all": Progression away from gameplay, (b) "Gaining strength and easing back": Return to gameplay, (c) "One step forward, two steps back": Triumphs and challenges of mother footballers, and (d) Recent wins for women and opportunities for growth. Discussion: This study provides insights for sport organizations, federations, and any performance team supporting female football players who are considering starting a family mid-career. Findings suggest that maintaining both athletic and mother identity through the transition back to professional football are mediated by four distinct yet interrelated themes that challenge standard return-to-sport protocols.