'Even if you have children, you can be world class'

Christina Schwanitz was proud and emotional simultaneously. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sobbed.

"I would like to thank my team for their great support," she said. "None of this would have been possible without these people."

What may have sounded like the usual set of sporting platitudes after an athlete has just won a medal had a much deeper meaning for the 33-year-old German. After all, two years after giving birth to twins, on this Thursday night in Doha, Schwanitz had just completed her journey back to the podium by winning bronze at the World Athletics Championships.

"That's why I made my comeback, to show that even if you have children, you can be world class," she said.

Being an elite-level athlete and becoming a mother are obviously not mutually exclusive. Prior to Schwanitz two other mothers, Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100 meters) and Allyson Felix from the USA (4x400 meter mixed relay), had already won medals in Doha after returning to their sports after taking time off to have their children. And the fact that Schwanitz was able to achieve her goal was not as unlikely as it may seem at first glance – scientific evidence shows that it is doable. 

Coming back requires discipline

"If it is an uncomplicated pregnancy, you can continue (training) until the end of the pregnancy and maintain a high standard of fitness. Afterwards you can return to your former level of performance and sometimes even exceed it. However, this demands a great deal of discipline," Lisa Ferrari, a sports scientist at the German Sports University Cologne, told DW.

Ferrari, who has been studying the interaction between competitive sports and pregnancy for quite some time also stressed that every pregnant athlete and her course of pregnancy must be looked at individually. In the best-case scenario, she would have an entire team of doctors, which is usually the case with competitive athletes, who would draw up a training program tailored to the individual needs of that particular athlete.

Stability of the pelvic floor crucial

As a general rule, the intensity of the athlete's training sessions can more or less be roughly maintained after she becomes pregnant.

"Everything that is more than 90 percent of the maximum oxygen intake is not recommended. This is what studies have shown. One should train at about 80 percent, moving to alternative exercises in keeping with the particular physical conditions at play," Ferrari said. Then carrying on with training is not a concern for either mother or child, even if the heart rates of both are elevated during training."

While doctors can determine with great accuracy how long a pregnant women can continue to train, there are many variables when it comes to resuming training after childbirth.

"The stability of the pelvic floor and abdominal wall are crucial factors for starting training again," Ferrari said. The time span before full-load capacity is reached is long and it's almost impossible to influence this through training. Young mothers tend to have to wait between six weeks and eight months before resuming training.   

The effort and commitment required to return to competitive sport is very great indeed, which is why after winning her medal in Doha, Christina Schwanitz had a message for other young mothers.

"Many other mothers should see this as an example. Thinking that just because I have a child, I cannot work or take on a leadership role is simply nonsense."