One hundred and ninety eight people responded to the web poll question “Has your club ever restricted someone from playing sport because they are pregnant?” Forty one percent responded that they either knew of someone who had had been restricted (36%), or had personally been restricted (5%) by their club.

It is concerning that women are experiencing this treatment by their club or sport. Freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sex, pregnancy or potential pregnancy is a fundamental human right, and consequently it is protected by legislation at the federal, state and territory level. All states and territories have anti-discrimination laws that make discrimination against pregnant women unlawful.

Sport often finds the issue of pregnancy difficult to deal with as it concerns ethical, legal, medical, privacy and human rights matters. At the heart of the debate is concern by sport about how to manage the competing responsibilities of discrimination and occupational, health and safety laws as well as insurance requirements.

To help guide sports in developing policies and procedures on pregnancy the Australian Sports Commission has produced a booklet “Pregnancy In Sport Guidelines”. These guidelines are based on conclusions from the National Forum on Pregnancy (2001), and on other expert contributions. These guidelines include useful FAQ’s.