WNBA is the biggest platform in the USA where fans can witness highly talented and skillful female basketball players. The WNBA players are tall, muscular, and mentally tough women who are massive compared to regular females.
Despite the difference in physical and mental strength, these WNBA players are female, at the end of the day, who want to embrace motherhood.
While female athletes, especially WNBA players, getting pregnant was a stigma in the past, it has become regular over the past few years. Players got discriminated against by their management and even teammates.
However, things are getting better, and even WNBA has implemented new rules and regulations to help pregnant WNBA players go through the natural process of giving birth.
Here we will talk about things the WNBA does for its players after they get pregnant.
Fully Paid Maternity Leave
In the past, WNBA players were given maternity leave with only half of their pay, but since 2020 as per the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, the WNBA gave full paid maternity leave to pregnant players.
The Agreement ensures that the WNBA players and their children get enough rest without financial difficulties.
Childcare Stipend
The Collective Bargaining Agreement also ensures that the WNBA provides a stipend of 5000 USD to its pregnant players as a childcare stipend. This money allows the WNBA players to buy all necessary provisions, such as formula milk, diapers, etc., for their newborn babies.
This system ensures that the WNBA players can return to the court without mental or financial difficulties while raising their children.
Housing
Along with full paid maternity leave and childcare stipend, the WNBA provides housing facilities to its pregnant players.
Players who already have kids also have this benefit as per the Agreement. The WNBA players receive a two-bedroom housing facility to raise their kids.
Different Reimbursement
The WNBA provides direct financial help to its pregnant players and gives them reimbursement for their medical treatments related to pregnancy.
The association also provides around 60,000 USD as reimbursement for procedures such as surrogacy, adoption, or infertility treatment.
Aerobic Facility
Besides all these, the WNBA players also receive aerobic training along with their regular pieces of training.
The players get moderate-intensity aerobic exercise which helps them to reduce back pain, maintain healthy weight gain, and even lose weight after delivery.
Physical Therapy
Often the WNBA players lose almost all their toned muscles during pregnancy and have difficulty gaining them back after delivery. So, to help pregnant WNBA players to get back in shape and regain core muscles through physical therapies.
Things have changed a lot for WNBA players who get pregnant during their active years on the court, and a pregnant WNBA player is not a stigma anymore.
But there are still many issues, like getting discriminated against or even being transferred. Because of these, the players like Derrick Hamby often hide the fact that they are pregnant and keep playing.
Even when some decided to share that they were pregnant, they had to suffer from situations like getting traded to another team.
