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A few years ago, Catholic speaker Leah Darrow went viral for sharing her story on Instagram of how babies don’t hold women back from pursuing their dreams.
“I believe women all over deserve to see more women raising babies AND living and pursuing their dreams because babies and dreams ALWAYS go together,” she wrote at the time.
A development at the upcoming Olympics this summer underscores her message that motherhood and professional success are not mutually exclusive.
So many women with children are competing in the 2024 Olympics that, for the first time ever, the Olympic Village will feature a nursery for athletes’ babies.
The nursery will be set up in the nonresidential area in the Olympic Village Plaza, and will be open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to parents of babies and young children “and their dedicated caregivers.” The goal is to help athletes more easily spend time with their babies or infants amid their intense competition and training schedules.
The French National Olympic and Sports Committee has also pledged to make hotel rooms available for French athletes who are breastfeeding, as part of a set of measures to create more space for “parenthood” within the Games.
A welcome change
Numerous athletes have spoken out over the years for better accommodations for athletes with young children.
“It’s really cool what the French Olympic Committee is doing for their breastfeeding and parent athletes,” Canadian basketball player Kim Gaucher told the Washington Post. “This is what we want to be the norm.”
American track and field athlete Allyson Felix, who won 11 Olympic medals before retiring from the sport in 2022, helped to spearhead the nursery initiative. She told CBS, “I just knew how difficult it was to compete at the top level after I had my daughter, and some practical things were really hard.”
By contrast, the nursery is a visible witness that women can have children and also realize their wildest dreams. “I think it really tells women that you can choose motherhood and also be at the top of your game and not have to miss a beat,” Felix said.
Having babies and chasing dreams
The nursery at the 2024 Olympics shows what is possible when women are supported in their dual roles as mothers and professionals. It is a testament to the strength, resilience, and capability of mothers everywhere.
As Darrow pointed out years ago, and as so many moms know, embracing motherhood does not have to mean sacrificing personal or professional dreams.
Instead, with the right support, it is possible to achieve success in all aspects of life, living out the fullness of the vocation to which God calls each of us.
