This two-time Olympian is advocating for athletes who want to have children and keep competing

A two-time Olympic rower is now advocating for elite athletes who want to become mothers.

Jill Moffatt is one of the co-founders of MOMentum, a non-profit organization that provides grants and peer support for female athletes who are looking into family planning. 

She says female athletes often face several barriers and discrimination when starting a family.

"I had one athlete tell me that she actually lost a sponsor when she told them that she was going to try and have a child and come back for the next Olympics," Moffatt said.

"Despite having just placed fourth at the games."

For Olympians, Moffatt says there's a short window for athletes to have children. And once they have kids, they often don't get access to maternity leave, or other benefits in more typical jobs.

"Typically, athletes are working and training in these four-year cycles," she said. "And egg freezing became a big thing amongst my teammates."

Moffatt says female athletes face several barriers after they have children as well. She says one of the co-founders of MOMentum had to fight to be allowed to breastfeed her child while competing at the Tokyo Olympics.

For certain sports, team dynamics also come into play.

"If you do want to have a child and come back, if you are in that team setting, how is that being accepted by your peers?" Moffatt said.

Moffatt is completing a Ph.D. in human kinetics at Laurentian University, focusing on how the media covers athletes who are mothers. 

She says the narrative of the "super mom" athlete who does it all, while raising a family, can actually be damaging because it creates unrealistic expectations for some athletes. 

"It's this weird dichotomy," she said. 

"I want other athletes across Canada to not just see this idea of a super mom and think, well, that's not me. I can't do that. It's difficult, and takes a lot of perseverance, but a lot of women do it and can do it if they are supported."