Athletes returning to sport in the postpartum period: a scoping review
Creators: name: Dorste, Anna
name: Farnsworth, Nicole
name: Wilson, Fiona
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Sports Sciences
subject: Sports Medicine
subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
subject: Medical Specialties
subject: athletes
subject: elite sports
subject: postpartum
subject: pregnancy
subject: sport science
subject: sports medicine

description: Despite increased interest and public discourse surrounding the female athlete and motherhood, there is limited understanding of how the postpartum period affects the female athlete and the return to sport. Recent systematic reviews exploring the postpartum athlete literature illustrate the dearth of available information by which to create guidelines for the postpartum athlete (Bo et al., 2017; Kimber et al., 2021). The scoping review approach allows for a comprehensive look at the literature available and the ability to assess the studies that vary in their definition of postpartum and definition of athlete. Information sources searched: PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, PsycINFO, Google Scholar. Sample Search Strategy (full strategies uploaded as separate document): PubMed ((Athletes[mesh] OR Sports[mesh] OR "Sports Medicine"[mesh] OR athlete[tiab] OR athletes[tiab] OR athletic[tiab] OR athletics[tiab] OR sports[tiab] OR para-athlete[tiab] OR para-athletes[tiab] OR para-athletics[tiab] OR olympic[tiab] OR olympics[tiab] OR olympian[tiab] OR olympians[tiab] OR paralympian[tiab] OR paralympic[tiab] OR players[tiab] OR players[tiab] OR skiing[tiab] OR skier[tiab] OR skiers[tiab] OR ski[tiab] OR baseball[tiab] OR basketball[tiab] OR cycling[tiab] OR cyclist[tiab] OR cyclists[tiab] OR bicycle[tiab] OR bicycling[tiab] OR boxing[tiab] OR boxer[tiab] OR boxers[tiab] OR soccer[tiab] OR golf[tiab] OR golfer[tiab] OR golfers[tiab] OR gymnast[tiab] OR gymnasts[tiab] OR gymnastic[tiab] OR gymnastics[tiab] OR hockey[tiab] OR "martial art"[tiab] OR "martial arts"[tiab] OR "tai ji"[tiab] OR judo[tiab] OR karate[tiab] OR jujitsu[tiab] OR "tae kwon do"[tiab] OR aikido[tiab] OR wushu[tiab] OR "kung fu"[tiab] OR "gong fu"[tiab] OR gongfu[tiab] OR wrestling[tiab] OR wrestler[tiab] OR wrestlers[tiab] OR mountaineer[tiab] OR mountaineers[tiab] OR mountaineering[tiab] OR rockclimber[tiab] OR rockclimbers[tiab] OR rockclimbing[tiab] OR "rock climber"[tiab] OR "rock climbers"[tiab] OR "rock climbing"[tiab] OR tennis[tiab] OR runner[tiab] OR runners[tiab] OR running[tiab] OR marathon[tiab] OR marathons[tiab] OR marathoner[tiab] OR marathoners[tiab] OR ultramarathon[tiab] OR ultramarathons[tiab] OR ultramarathoner[tiab] OR ultramarathoners[tiab] OR "ultra marathon"[tiab] OR "ultra marathons"[tiab] OR "ultra marathoner"[tiab] OR "ultra marathoners"[tiab] OR skating[tiab] OR "figure skating"[tiab] OR "figure skater"[tiab] OR "figure skaters"[tiab] OR "track and field"[tiab] OR volleyball[tiab] OR swim[tiab] OR swimming[tiab] OR swimmer[tiab] OR swimmers[tiab] OR "weight lifting"[tiab] OR "weight lifter"[tiab] OR "weight lifters"[tiab] OR "body building"[tiab] OR "body builder"[tiab] OR "body builders"[tiab] OR triathlete[tiab] OR triathletes[tiab] OR triathlon[tiab] OR triathlons[tiab] OR fencing[tiab] OR fencer[tiab] OR fencers[tiab]) AND ("Athletic Injuries"[mesh] OR "Athletic Performance"[mesh] OR "Muscle Strength"[mesh] OR "Physical Endurance"[mesh] OR "Muscle Fatigue"[mesh] OR "Physical Conditioning, Human"[mesh] OR Exercise[mesh] OR endurance[tiab] OR stamina[tiab] OR aerobic[tiab] OR anaerobic[tiab] OR exercise[tiab] OR exercising[tiab] OR train[tiab] OR training[tiab] OR power[tiab] OR performance[tiab] OR strength[tiab] OR strengthening[tiab] OR skill[tiab] OR skills[tiab] OR speed[tiab] OR agility[tiab] OR tactic[tiab] OR tactics[tiab] OR flexibility[tiab] OR flexibile[tiab] OR injury[tiab] OR injuries[tiab] OR fatigue[tiab] OR fatigued[tiab] OR conditioning[tiab] OR deconditioning[tiab] OR recovery[tiab] OR recover[tiab] OR recovered[tiab])) AND ("Postnatal Care"[mesh] OR "Postpartum Period"[mesh] OR Parturition[mesh] OR "Labor, Obstetric"[mesh] OR "Breast Feeding"[mesh] OR "Cesarean Section"[mesh] OR "Milk, Human"[mesh] OR "post partum"[tiab] OR postpartum[tiab] OR puerperium[tiab] OR lactating[tiab] OR lactation[tiab] OR puerperal[tiab] OR "post pregnancy"[tiab] OR postnatal[tiab] OR "post natal"[tiab] OR parturition[tiab] OR parturitions[tiab] OR childbirth[tiab] OR birth[tiab] OR childbirths[tiab] OR births[tiab] OR labor[tiab] OR "breast feeding"[tiab] OR "breast feed"[tiab] OR "breast fed"[tiab] OR breastfeeding[tiab] OR breastfeed[tiab] OR breastfed[tiab] OR caesarian[tiab] OR cesarian[tiab] OR c-section[tiab] OR c-sections[tiab] OR "abdominal delivery"[tiab] OR "abdominal deliveries"[tiab] OR postcesarean[tiab] OR postcaesarean[tiab] OR "breast milk"[tiab] OR breastmilk[tiab] OR fetectomy[tiab] OR fetectomies[tiab] OR "sectio caesarea"[tiab]) Results will be systematically reviewed using Covidence systematic review software. Results will be judged against the following eligibility criteria: Inclusion: Must be females Must be athletes/active Must be studying the postpartum time period Must include outcome measures relevant to athlete returning to sport (i.e., performance or health) Exclusion: Do not want animal studies Do not want studies conducted in males Do not want studies in non-active females Do not want studies looking outside the postpartum period