Abstract
The notion that pregnancy and abortion are forms of doping has persisted for 20 years. Popular and scientific literature on pregnancy/abortion doping was critically analyzed to compare pregnancy/abortion doping with definitions of doping and blood doping and to compare pregnancy/abortion doping themes to current scientific knowledge. Main themes included oxygenation advantage and hormonal advantage. During pregnancy, maximal oxygen uptake may improve but not exercise performance. Human chorionic gonadotropin, the only pregnancy hormone on National Collegiate Athletic Association and United States Anti-Doping Agency banned substances lists, increases during pregnancy but there is no evidence that hCG enhances athletic performance in women. Recommendations include revising USADA and NNCAA policies into congruence with World Anti-Doping Agency policies which ban hCG for men only. During the past seven years of advocating for college student-athlete athletic department pregnancy and parenting policies, popula...
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