Elin Rubensson on becoming a mother at the height of her career - 'I can't let my career decide when to have a baby'
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Updated 01/08/2023 at 13:44 GMT
Sweden's Elin Rubensson knew that she wanted to start a family but grappled with how it would affect her footballing career. In the latest episode of World At Their Feet, Rubensson discusses her decision to have a son, and how she worked to ensure she would return to playing. Rubensson will be a part of the Sweden team looking to better their silver medal in 2003 at this year's Women's World Cup.
World at their Feet - Episode 10 - Elin rubensson - subtitled
Image credit: Eurosport
In the latest episode of World at their Feet, a discovery+ series ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we hear from BK Hacken and Sweden midfielder Elin Rubensson about her journey in balancing football and motherhood.
Rubensson, 30, was born in Marieholm, a small town in the south of Sweden, alongside her "tight-knit" family.
In the episode, Rubensson speaks candidly about knowing early on that she wanted to be a mother and how she grappled with the decision to put her career as a professional athlete on hold.
At 16 years old, she was already playing in the Damallsvenskan, the highest division of women's football in Sweden. But despite her early success, she knew she had ambitions beyond her sporting career.
"I had a lot of goals and played a lot of tournaments, but I still wanted to be a young mom. It's hard to choose the right moment in your career, because every year there are new tournaments to compete in," she says.
"In the end, I thought, I can't let my career decide when to have a baby, if we really want one."
Rubensson and her husband felt ready and were able to make the decision during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the league was put on hold and the Olympics were postponed.
"My reaction to when we found out that I was pregnant was pure happiness. But of course, I started to think, 'What happens now? Maybe I can't play football anymore.'
"You don't know what happens to your body after giving birth."
In many cases, professionals face immense pressure to regain full match fitness soon after giving birth, despite the physical toll pregnancy can have on the body.
In Rubensson's case, she received vital support from her club, BK Hacken during and after having her son, as her husband took paternity leave.
"My club supported me really well. They helped me with my training, together with my physiotherapist. They kept paying my salary. They supported me as much as they could."
After Rubensson's pregnancy, the club took further initiatives to ensure that future players would gain all the support that they needed if they chose to start families.
"We wanted to take it one step further, and put in place a pregnancy policy," says Hacken CEO Marcus Jodin.
"We are trying to make it as fair as possible."
Remarkably, just two months after giving birth, Rubensson was able to resume training with her team. With the assistance of her club, she managed to get her fitness levels to heights that she didn't reach even before her maternity period: "I played my first real game after three months [post-giving birth]. That is quite fast."
"She was back with the national team nine months after giving birth, which is impossible," says Jodin.
"It should be impossible. But she worked hard. Our physio team worked really hard, and Elin was determined to get back."
Rubensson continues to be a part of the national team set-up, and will compete for Sweden at the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
"We have a lot of good players and a good team. Absolutely we can go the whole way if we do the right thing."
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