Author: Eleni S
Motherhood transforms the body in ways no structured training cycle can replicate. Muscles adapt, organs shift, hormone levels rise and fall, sleep patterns are disrupted, and identity evolves. For female athletes, and especially for freedivers, pregnancy and the postpartum period represent not a simple interruption of training but a complete physiological and psychological transition. Returning to the ocean after childbirth is therefore not a comeback in the traditional sense. It is a reintroduction to a body that is familiar yet fundamentally different. Understanding this transition is essential as more women continue to train, teach, and compete in freediving through different stages of motherhood.
In freediving, performance is built on internal regulation rather than external output. The ability to manage breath, heart rate, muscular tension, and psychological state determines depth and safety. Pregnancy and the postpartum period introduce a set of physiological conditions that directly influence these systems. Rather than viewing this phase as a limitation, it can be understood as a new physiological environment that requires adaptation, awareness, and recalibration.
The Physiological Changes of Pregnancy and Freediving
Pregnancy triggers one of the most extensive adaptations the human body can undergo. Blood volume increases significantly, sometimes by up to fifty percent, and cardiac output rises to support both maternal and fetal needs. Oxygen demand also increases, while the diaphragm shifts upward as the uterus expands. Ligaments become more flexible under the influence of relaxin, and the center of gravity changes progressively throughout pregnancy.
For freedivers, these changes directly influence breath mechanics, buoyancy, balance, and comfort in the water. The upward displacement of the diaphragm reduces available lung expansion, limiting maximal inhalation and therefore affecting breath hold potential. Increased blood volume and cardiac output alter cardiovascular responses during immersion. At the same time, ligament laxity can influence joint stability and movement efficiency, particularly during finning and body positioning.
As pregnancy progresses, these adaptations become more pronounced. Even basic movements in the water may feel unfamiliar, and the sense of control that divers rely on can temporarily shift. The body’s primary objective becomes the protection of the fetus, and physiological systems adjust accordingly. Energy conservation replaces performance optimization, and internal signals often guide behavior more strongly than external goals.
Breath hold diving introduces additional complexity. Hypoxia and pressure changes are inherent to apnea disciplines, and while research in this specific area remains limited, the potential risks to fetal oxygen supply are considered significant. For this reason, most medical professionals recommend avoiding freediving during pregnancy. Many divers instead choose to remain connected to the ocean through gentle swimming, surface breathing, or low intensity immersion.
This cautious approach is reflected in real experiences from within the freediving community.
Lily Crespy
"I'm Lily, a freediving instructor trainer and currently 7 months pregnant. I know some women freedivers who continued to teach freediving (shallow and short dives of course) throughout pregnancy, even to continue training. I guess the medical research on the topic is currently very small, and of course doctors will always be conservative and tell you to stop all freediving activity during pregnancy. I guess each pregnant freediver is free to choose what she wants to do. Personally, this pregnancy came last (at 44yo), after dreaming about it for 20 years, and 3 years of long and painful medically assisted procreation process, including 7 failures before I finally got a positive pregnancy test. So I was not about to take any risk whatsoever and for me the decision was very clear from the beginning: zero freediving throughout my entire pregnancy.
What I can say though is that I continue coaching remotely, and every time I have to demonstrate an equalization drill for example, that requires a short breath-hold, I feel clearly out of breath much much sooner than I used to. The urge to breathe kicks in much faster. I also noticed it while doing Watsu sessions. I received a session, including passages underwater, before pregnancy, and then again at 5 months pregnant, and the difference was huge. The urge to breathe shows up almost instantly.
So, I chose to stop all breath-holding. But I think even if I wanted to continue to freedive during pregnancy, my performance would be quite poor. So no regrets at all. I’ll return to freediving in a few months, as a freediving mama".
Lily's experience highlights a key physiological reality. Pregnancy increases respiratory drive and sensitivity to carbon dioxide, leading to a faster urge to breathe even during short apnea. These internal changes often provide clear feedback that guides decision making without the need for external validation.
Postpartum Recovery and the Return to the Ocean
After childbirth, the body enters a recovery phase that is highly individualized and rarely linear. Recovery involves muscular and connective tissue repair, hormonal recalibration, restoration of blood volume, and gradual return of neuromuscular coordination. Sleep deprivation and the demands of caregiving further influence recovery speed and overall physical readiness.
Breath hold diving relies heavily on core stability and diaphragm control. During pregnancy, the abdominal wall and pelvic floor undergo significant stress and stretching. Weakness in these areas can affect posture, equalization, and overall efficiency in the water. Pelvic floor rehabilitation is often necessary before resuming high intensity training. Without adequate recovery, divers may experience reduced control during breath holds and increased risk of injury.
Hormonal conditions in the postpartum period also play an important role. Estrogen levels remain relatively low, particularly during breastfeeding. This can affect joint stability, muscle recovery, and overall energy levels. Fatigue is common, making gradual progression essential. Rather than returning immediately to pre pregnancy training intensity, most divers benefit from a phased approach that prioritizes stability, breathing control, and technical precision.
The psychological transition during this phase can be just as significant as the physical one. The relationship between the athlete and the body evolves, often becoming more cautious, more aware, and more deliberate. This shift is reflected in the experiences of divers who return to training after childbirth.
Iru Balic
"My life as a freediver had a 'before' and 'after' motherhood. When I was pregnant with my first child and still didn’t know it, my instinct was to go to the ocean by myself just to float and breathe through my snorkel. When Lara was born, I felt I had to lead by example. To me, at that moment, that meant going back to competitions after a few years away. I couldn’t imagine telling my baby girl to follow her dreams if I wasn’t following mine.
I felt complete being able to breastfeed her right before competing; I was amazed by what my body was capable of doing. However, this had a downside: I had never felt more vulnerable getting into the water than after becoming a mom. It was as if I was afraid of gambling with my ability to be present for her.
My second pregnancy was completely different. My urge was to be super active, working in the water, teaching, and training. I remember one day during that pregnancy, I was teaching on a remote beach in Qatar, in the middle of the desert, and I got stung by a powerful jellyfish. It was a scary situation; my immune system was suppressed to protect the baby, so it didn’t react well to the venom. It all ended with an ambulance ride to the hospital and days of intense pain.
During my third trimester, I was visiting Venezuela, my home country. The most magical event happened when a huge whale shark came very close to the shore at Chichiriviche de la Costa. My friend Williams took me, with my large belly, and my 3-year-old Lara to swim right next to it. It imprinted on my soul forever as the most beautiful underwater encounter I have ever had".
Iru's experience captures both the complexity and the depth of this transition. The drive to perform, the vulnerability of responsibility, and the continued connection to the ocean all coexist within the same journey.
Identity, Adaptation, and Long Term Performance
One of the most significant challenges for athlete mothers is the integration of identity. The transition from athlete to mother does not eliminate the drive for performance, but it often reshapes priorities. Returning to freediving becomes less about achieving records and more about maintaining connection, presence, and personal meaning.
For many women, this shift results in a more sustainable relationship with the sport. Experience becomes a central asset. Technical refinement, efficient movement, and mental regulation take precedence over raw physical output. Freediving, which already rewards efficiency over force, becomes particularly well suited to this stage of life.
The emotional dimension of this transition can also be positive. Some divers report a deeper sense of calm and clarity in the water after motherhood. The ocean becomes not a space for proving ability, but for reconnecting with oneself. This shift in perspective can enhance performance indirectly by reducing internal pressure and improving psychological stability.
Motherhood introduces a different relationship with risk. Awareness increases, decision making becomes more deliberate, and the tolerance for unnecessary exposure often decreases. While this may appear as caution, it can also be understood as refined judgment. In freediving, where safety and awareness are fundamental, this shift can contribute to more controlled and sustainable performance.
The Ocean as a Space of Renewal
Water has long been associated with restoration and renewal. For a mother returning to freediving, immersion often represents a reconnection with identity beyond caregiving. The ocean does not impose expectations. It responds only to presence, control, and adaptation.
Returning to the water after childbirth is not about reclaiming a previous version of performance. It is about understanding a new physiological and psychological baseline and building from there. Depth, in this context, becomes less about external achievement and more about internal alignment.
Motherhood does not end an athletic journey. It transforms it. The athlete who returns is often more patient, more aware, and more deliberate in her actions. She may approach depth differently, not as a challenge to overcome but as a space to understand and navigate.
In freediving, depth is not achieved through force but through regulation and surrender. Motherhood reinforces these same principles. The woman who returns to the ocean after childbirth is not the same diver she was before. She carries new physical and psychological experiences that influence how she moves, breathes, and responds under pressure.
The result is not a diminished athlete, but a more complex one. In many cases, a more resilient one.
Medical Review: Dr. Ioannis Gavras, Obstetrician-Gynecologist
Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Freediving: Returning to Performance After Motherhood
Author: Eleni S
Motherhood transforms the body in ways no structured training cycle can replicate. Muscles adapt, organs shift, hormone levels rise and fall, sleep patterns are disrupted, and identity evolves. For female athletes, and especially for freedivers, pregnancy and the postpartum period represent not a simple interruption of training but a complete physiological and psychological transition. Returning to the ocean after childbirth is therefore not a comeback in the traditional sense. It is a reintroduction to a body that is familiar yet fundamentally different. Understanding this transition is essential as more women continue to train, teach, and compete in freediving through different stages of motherhood.
In freediving, performance is built on internal regulation rather than external output. The ability to manage breath, heart rate, muscular tension, and psychological state determines depth and safety. Pregnancy and the postpartum period introduce a set of physiological conditions that directly influence these systems. Rather than viewing this phase as a limitation, it can be understood as a new physiological environment that requires adaptation, awareness, and recalibration.
The Physiological Changes of Pregnancy and Freediving
Pregnancy triggers one of the most extensive adaptations the human body can undergo. Blood volume increases significantly, sometimes by up to fifty percent, and cardiac output rises to support both maternal and fetal needs. Oxygen demand also increases, while the diaphragm shifts upward as the uterus expands. Ligaments become more flexible under the influence of relaxin, and the center of gravity changes progressively throughout pregnancy.
For freedivers, these changes directly influence breath mechanics, buoyancy, balance, and comfort in the water. The upward displacement of the diaphragm reduces available lung expansion, limiting maximal inhalation and therefore affecting breath hold potential. Increased blood volume and cardiac output alter cardiovascular responses during immersion. At the same time, ligament laxity can influence joint stability and movement efficiency, particularly during finning and body positioning.
As pregnancy progresses, these adaptations become more pronounced. Even basic movements in the water may feel unfamiliar, and the sense of control that divers rely on can temporarily shift. The body’s primary objective becomes the protection of the fetus, and physiological systems adjust accordingly. Energy conservation replaces performance optimization, and internal signals often guide behavior more strongly than external goals.
Breath hold diving introduces additional complexity. Hypoxia and pressure changes are inherent to apnea disciplines, and while research in this specific area remains limited, the potential risks to fetal oxygen supply are considered significant. For this reason, most medical professionals recommend avoiding freediving during pregnancy. Many divers instead choose to remain connected to the ocean through gentle swimming, surface breathing, or low intensity immersion.
This cautious approach is reflected in real experiences from within the freediving community.
Lily Crespy
"I'm Lily, a freediving instructor trainer and currently 7 months pregnant. I know some women freedivers who continued to teach freediving (shallow and short dives of course) throughout pregnancy, even to continue training. I guess the medical research on the topic is currently very small, and of course doctors will always be conservative and tell you to stop all freediving activity during pregnancy. I guess each pregnant freediver is free to choose what she wants to do. Personally, this pregnancy came last (at 44yo), after dreaming about it for 20 years, and 3 years of long and painful medically assisted procreation process, including 7 failures before I finally got a positive pregnancy test. So I was not about to take any risk whatsoever and for me the decision was very clear from the beginning: zero freediving throughout my entire pregnancy.
What I can say though is that I continue coaching remotely, and every time I have to demonstrate an equalization drill for example, that requires a short breath-hold, I feel clearly out of breath much much sooner than I used to. The urge to breathe kicks in much faster. I also noticed it while doing Watsu sessions. I received a session, including passages underwater, before pregnancy, and then again at 5 months pregnant, and the difference was huge. The urge to breathe shows up almost instantly.
So, I chose to stop all breath-holding. But I think even if I wanted to continue to freedive during pregnancy, my performance would be quite poor. So no regrets at all. I’ll return to freediving in a few months, as a freediving mama".
Lily's experience highlights a key physiological reality. Pregnancy increases respiratory drive and sensitivity to carbon dioxide, leading to a faster urge to breathe even during short apnea. These internal changes often provide clear feedback that guides decision making without the need for external validation.
Postpartum Recovery and the Return to the Ocean
After childbirth, the body enters a recovery phase that is highly individualized and rarely linear. Recovery involves muscular and connective tissue repair, hormonal recalibration, restoration of blood volume, and gradual return of neuromuscular coordination. Sleep deprivation and the demands of caregiving further influence recovery speed and overall physical readiness.
Breath hold diving relies heavily on core stability and diaphragm control. During pregnancy, the abdominal wall and pelvic floor undergo significant stress and stretching. Weakness in these areas can affect posture, equalization, and overall efficiency in the water. Pelvic floor rehabilitation is often necessary before resuming high intensity training. Without adequate recovery, divers may experience reduced control during breath holds and increased risk of injury.
Hormonal conditions in the postpartum period also play an important role. Estrogen levels remain relatively low, particularly during breastfeeding. This can affect joint stability, muscle recovery, and overall energy levels. Fatigue is common, making gradual progression essential. Rather than returning immediately to pre pregnancy training intensity, most divers benefit from a phased approach that prioritizes stability, breathing control, and technical precision.
The psychological transition during this phase can be just as significant as the physical one. The relationship between the athlete and the body evolves, often becoming more cautious, more aware, and more deliberate. This shift is reflected in the experiences of divers who return to training after childbirth.
Iru Balic
"My life as a freediver had a 'before' and 'after' motherhood. When I was pregnant with my first child and still didn’t know it, my instinct was to go to the ocean by myself just to float and breathe through my snorkel. When Lara was born, I felt I had to lead by example. To me, at that moment, that meant going back to competitions after a few years away. I couldn’t imagine telling my baby girl to follow her dreams if I wasn’t following mine.
I felt complete being able to breastfeed her right before competing; I was amazed by what my body was capable of doing. However, this had a downside: I had never felt more vulnerable getting into the water than after becoming a mom. It was as if I was afraid of gambling with my ability to be present for her.
My second pregnancy was completely different. My urge was to be super active, working in the water, teaching, and training. I remember one day during that pregnancy, I was teaching on a remote beach in Qatar, in the middle of the desert, and I got stung by a powerful jellyfish. It was a scary situation; my immune system was suppressed to protect the baby, so it didn’t react well to the venom. It all ended with an ambulance ride to the hospital and days of intense pain.
During my third trimester, I was visiting Venezuela, my home country. The most magical event happened when a huge whale shark came very close to the shore at Chichiriviche de la Costa. My friend Williams took me, with my large belly, and my 3-year-old Lara to swim right next to it. It imprinted on my soul forever as the most beautiful underwater encounter I have ever had".
Iru's experience captures both the complexity and the depth of this transition. The drive to perform, the vulnerability of responsibility, and the continued connection to the ocean all coexist within the same journey.
Identity, Adaptation, and Long Term Performance
One of the most significant challenges for athlete mothers is the integration of identity. The transition from athlete to mother does not eliminate the drive for performance, but it often reshapes priorities. Returning to freediving becomes less about achieving records and more about maintaining connection, presence, and personal meaning.
For many women, this shift results in a more sustainable relationship with the sport. Experience becomes a central asset. Technical refinement, efficient movement, and mental regulation take precedence over raw physical output. Freediving, which already rewards efficiency over force, becomes particularly well suited to this stage of life.
The emotional dimension of this transition can also be positive. Some divers report a deeper sense of calm and clarity in the water after motherhood. The ocean becomes not a space for proving ability, but for reconnecting with oneself. This shift in perspective can enhance performance indirectly by reducing internal pressure and improving psychological stability.
Motherhood introduces a different relationship with risk. Awareness increases, decision making becomes more deliberate, and the tolerance for unnecessary exposure often decreases. While this may appear as caution, it can also be understood as refined judgment. In freediving, where safety and awareness are fundamental, this shift can contribute to more controlled and sustainable performance.
The Ocean as a Space of Renewal
Water has long been associated with restoration and renewal. For a mother returning to freediving, immersion often represents a reconnection with identity beyond caregiving. The ocean does not impose expectations. It responds only to presence, control, and adaptation.
Returning to the water after childbirth is not about reclaiming a previous version of performance. It is about understanding a new physiological and psychological baseline and building from there. Depth, in this context, becomes less about external achievement and more about internal alignment.
Motherhood does not end an athletic journey. It transforms it. The athlete who returns is often more patient, more aware, and more deliberate in her actions. She may approach depth differently, not as a challenge to overcome but as a space to understand and navigate.
In freediving, depth is not achieved through force but through regulation and surrender. Motherhood reinforces these same principles. The woman who returns to the ocean after childbirth is not the same diver she was before. She carries new physical and psychological experiences that influence how she moves, breathes, and responds under pressure.
The result is not a diminished athlete, but a more complex one. In many cases, a more resilient one.
Medical Review: Dr. Ioannis Gavras, Obstetrician-Gynecologist