In this exclusive interview, we talk to Alysia Montaño, an Olympic athlete, mother, and the founder of &Mother, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering mothers in sports. Alysia’s journey as a professional athlete and mother has been both challenging and inspiring, fueling her advocacy for better support systems for breastfeeding athletes. Throughout her career, Alysia has brought to light the challenges faced by breastfeeding athletes and championed the cause for better support systems within the sports industry. In this conversation, Alysia shares insights from her own experiences, the motivations behind her advocacy, and her vision for a future where motherhood and athleticism can coexist harmoniously.
Read on as Alysia shares her personal experiences, the challenges she faced, and her vision for a future where motherhood and athleticism thrive together.
1. Alysia, can you share your journey as both a professional athlete and a mother? How did these roles inspire your advocacy work?
My journey as both a professional athlete and a mother have lived satellite lives. The two really fuel one another; what I learned and continue to learn as a professional athlete really supports my views on how I approach my motherhood. My experience of motherhood has enhanced how I view myself and continues to shape how I pursue my own version of "good enough" in my professional athleticism. Whether my efforts result in Olympic-level achievements or fall short of the goal, the wins are in the lessons I learn along the way. There is always something that I am able to take away that supports my ability to show up again the next day just a little bit better.
2. What motivated you to become an advocate for breastfeeding athletes, and how has your personal experience influenced this mission?
My motivation to become an advocate stemmed from my personal experience and the lack of support I encountered. I was shocked to learn that there were so many barriers for mothers when it came to how they can pursue their motherhood without repercussions for what's best for them, their families, and their babies. None of the barriers I faced were addressed, even though they could have been easily resolved by governing bodies, which I liken to employers in the broader world. I saw really simple things that could be implemented that would take the burden off of a breastfeeding athlete, allowing her to do her job well with no harm to the mom, child or the business. Everyone would benefit from improved infrastructure that better supports mothers in balancing both their careers and motherhood.
In 2015, eight months after giving birth, I was in my first year as a new mom with a clear goal: to breastfeed my daughter for a full year. I didn't believe that my choice to breastfeed should be compromised by an opportunity that didn’t need to interfere with that goal. However, I faced a significant barrier—I was expected to travel to a foreign country to compete, pump milk, and somehow figure out on my own how to get that milk back to my daughter without compromising it. At the time, it was unprecedented and unheard of for a high-level professional track and field athlete to have her body perform at an elite level for both her sport and her baby. I realized how critical it was for me to be in that space, showing the staff that it was possible and inspiring them to find ways to better support it. By doing so, we can help extend the careers of women athletes, acknowledging that motherhood is an integral part of the evolution of womanhood.
3. What are some of the biggest challenges breastfeeding athletes face, and how can these be addressed at both individual and organizational levels? What kind of support systems do you believe are essential for breastfeeding athletes?
Some of the biggest challenges breastfeeding athletes face is lactation support when traveling away from home. While we can manage our daily training routines, competing on the road has us on a tight leash within the constraints of a team, especially when there is inadequate support for breastfeeding athletes (especially as it pertains to pumping and storing milk. The current norm of "pumping and dumping" is unacceptable. It fails to recognize the importance of supporting the athlete, their child, and their families, allowing them to make the best choice for themselves—not having the choice made for them. It would be invaluable and essential to provide support to an athlete that allows their breastmilk to be stored and shipped safely back to their children, especially being that timelines for travel can be several days and even weeks in a high profile competition setting.
4. Breastfeeding is already so physically demanding. What does a typical day look like a breastfeeding athlete who is also training or competing?
For me, here is what a typical schedule looked like:
7:00am Wake and drink 16oz of water + a handful of nuts, breastfeed
7:30am Breakfast + drink 8oz of water
8:00am Pump breast milk for 20 minutes
8:30am Drink coffee and head to practice
9:00am-11:45am Sprint/endurance practice (post workout protein shake of some kind + hydration during practice)
12:00pm Nurse for 20 minutes (around 6 months, this switched to the bottle with mama's breast milk)
12:30pm Solid lunch + pump
1:00pm Read books then put baby down for a nap
1:30pm Baby's naptime + mama's
3:00pm Mama out for practice #2 run or workout #2 + weights 2-3 x a week.
Baby up from nap + drink breast milk from bottle.
4:30pm Professional PT and massage
5:45pm Family dinner
6:30pm Bathtime + read books
7:00pm Breastfeeding to sleep
7:30pm Baby goes to bed
8:30pm Pump to build freezer stash
5. Do you have any advice for other athletes who are trying to balance breastfeeding with their training and competition schedules?
You can do it if you want to. I am so hopeful that the barriers will be less for you, just know that the two can exist.
6. What are your future goals, both as an athlete and an advocate with &Mother, to continue supporting and empowering breastfeeding mothers in sports?
We have made huge strides, whether as hidden heroes or by living out loud. I am confident that the work we’ve done and continue to do is paying dividends, including the influence we’ve already had at the most recent Olympic Games. With people in the room alongside us as we advocate for change and challenge the status quo, we have a lot of big names supporting our efforts. With ONE VOICE, we are many! Our goal is by LA2028 we have an equitable event that has every mother athlete know that she belongs in sports; We hope to continue pushing for governing bodies to listen to and support their athletes, while also backing research that highlights the importance of supporting athletes' choices to both breastfeed and compete. Our goal is to give athletes the best opportunity to excel in both areas, and we seek ongoing support for this crucial research.
As part of our commitment to this cause, Milk Stork has partnered with &Mother to create the Milk Stork x &Mother Milk Cubby and canvas tote. We’re proud to donate ten percent of the proceeds from these products to support &Mother’s mission to help mothers balance their careers and motherhood seamlessly.