Traditionally the Olympics has not been overly accommodating to new moms. Children are not allowed in the Olympic Village which posed a challenge for athletes who are breastfeeding.
In an important move, it has been revealed that breast-feeding athletes will have access to hotel rooms near the athletes’ village in Saint-Ouen, Paris. This comes after campaigns by athletes like Clarisse Agbegneno for better support for new mothers in sports.
The rooms will allow athletes to stay with their infants or partners as children are ‘very restricted’ from entering the village. The hotel will also have a designated family area at an estimated cost of €40,000 (£34,200).
Astrid Guyart of the French Olympic Committee aims to make this support permanent beyond just the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Last year, Olympians shared their challenges of balancing breastfeeding with elite sports careers. Cyclist Laura Kenny and Paralympian Sarah Storey highlighted that being a breastfeeding mom and an elite athlete is possible.
Sarah said, ‘It’s absolutely possible to breastfeed and be at the highest level of sport because I’ve done it. Your baby is settled, it’s not crying, it’s not upset, and you can focus on the job that you’ve got to do as an athlete.
‘Knowing that I can provide for my child means that when I do this incredibly selfish job of being an athlete, where you have to be so self-centered and so self-absorbed with the hours that you’re training and racing, it gives me that yin and yang.’
Helen Glover even returned from retirement to compete in the Tokyo Games after giving birth to twins during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Competing while feeding her babies was ‘very draining. It was taking every calorie I had. But I could do it because it was my own time and my own choice.’ Despite this Helen and her new partner Polly Swann, made it to the finals at the Tokyo 2020(2021) Olympics, finishing fourth in the final.
There is a balance and there is a necessity for mom and baby. We’re thankful these accommodations are being made for athletes with babies.
The Olympics are scheduled from July 26-August 11 followed by the Paralympics from August 28-September 8.
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