Dr Tara-Leigh McHugh - The Experiences of Pregnancy and Parenting in High Performance Sport

IAS Guest Speaker Dr Tara-Leigh McHugh delivers a seminar on their research - Dr McHugh will share an overview of her recent stream of research, which has focused on high-performance athletes’ unique experiences of pregnancy and parenting. Co-leading a transdisciplinary research team, this research served as the foundation for an extensive Canada-wide research engagement and consultation process that resulted in the development of evidence- informed national-level policy and best practice recommendations, which have been adopted by Sport Canada. Dr McHugh will also share her leadership in the development of international policy and best practice recommendations for pregnant and parenting high-performance athletes, including her recent role on the Steering Committee for the 2026 IOC Consensus Statement on Sport Participation for Pregnant, Postpartum, and Parenting Athletes. She will end by sharing some of her team’s recent work with pregnant and postpartum high-performance coaches and officials, and her efforts to support the equitable participation of women in all roles, particularly in high-performance sport. Dr. Tara-Leigh McHugh Dr. Tara-Leigh McHugh is a Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Gender Equity in Sport and Physical Activity in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, Canada.  The overall aim of her program of research is to support the equitable participation of women and girls in all roles and across all levels of sport. Her research is broadly focused on advancing research on the psychosocial factors related to women’s and girls’ experiences of their bodies in sport. Such research has contributed to the development of local, national, and international evidence-informed policy and best practice recommendations for the equitable participation of women and girls in sport. As a former athlete and coach, Dr. McHugh is committed to using qualitative, collaborative, and community-based participatory research approaches to advance sport science research and practice. For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias