The NWSL has a record number of active mothers rostered, 28, this season. The figure represents a shift in support and understanding around pregnancy, postpartum and parenting. The Athletic explores these topics and more in a series devoted to motherhood and soccer. Sophia Wilson is standing on the sideline at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., about to enter the pitch for the first time since becoming a mom. The U.S. and Portland Thorns forward worked tirelessly to reach this moment, and now, 19,215 fans will witness the deeply personal milestone to open the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League season.When Wilson runs onto the pitch, it is as if a year had not passed since she last played. The 25-year-old still moves with the same conviction of an NWSL champion, MVP and Golden Boot winner. She only played 14 minutes, but it was all she needed.“I knew from the time I got pregnant that I was going to be very patient with myself through the whole process, even during pregnancy,” Wilson said in April. The U.S. women’s national team gold medalist welcomed her first child, Gigi, in September 2025. “Getting back to playing at a high level is not just a straight path. It’s not going to happen with the snap of my fingers. A lot of work went into it behind the scenes that a lot of people didn’t see, and a lot of work is still going into it.”With four goals in 12 games for the second-place Thorns, and her seamless return to the USWNT earlier this year, Wilson has come back with purpose and shows no signs of slowing down.“For me, it’s (about) being gracious with myself and going into it with the perspective of, ‘look at what my body has done for me and what it’s still continuing to do for me,’ and knowing that it is very possible to be great at both things — be a great mom and be a great athlete.”Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson returned to play earlier this year following pregnancy. (Hannah Foslien / Getty Images)Wilson is among a new generation of players who are starting their families during the prime of their careers. Resources are more readily available, especially at the NWSL and U.S. women’s national team levels, and players like Wilson have taken full advantage.There is growing recognition that pregnancy does not signal the end or the pause of a playing career, but rather an active chapter within it.The shift is driven by society’s increasing acceptance of mothers in the workplace, greater visibility of players who have returned to elite sport and, most importantly, improvements in science, infrastructure and resources accessible to women who wish to pursue motherhood and sport.The result, says Emily Kraus, a sports medicine physician at Stanford University working with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, is a sense of protection and support afforded to players that did not exist previously.“You’re not going to be alone on an island with your baby breastfeeding, trying to understand how to get a workout in or get strong and feeling this like pressure to come back,” says Kraus. “Women feel like, now there’s help.”That is evident with players like Wilson and fellow NWSL and U.S. forward Mallory Swanson. The 28-year-old returned to the Chicago Stars on May 16 and scored in her second game back the following weekend. She also spent a season away from the game to start a family. Swanson gave birth to her daughter, Josie, in November, two months after Wilson welcomed Gigi.