The Active Pregnancy Foundation and Sport England Announce New Partnership

We're celebrating our 5^th birthday and we couldn’t be more excited to announce our new partnership with Sport England. The partnership will solidify our shared mission to support pregnant and postnatal women to be active.

Pregnant and postnatal women are one of the least active groups and often underserved by the sport and physical activity sector - despite the critical role of physical activity in improving maternal and infant health as part of the preventative health agenda.  A growing body of evidence shows that being physically active during pregnancy can reduce the risk of complications such as gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and postnatal depression by as much as 67%.

With over £250,000 of National Lottery funding, the new strategic partnership will reduce inequalities and better support pregnant and postnatal women, with a specific focus on those living with disabilities, facing mental health challenges, or at risk of long-term health conditions.

“This partnership is a game-changer,” said Dr Marlize De Vivo, co-CEO of The Active Pregnancy Foundation. “It gives us the resources and recognition to reach more women than ever, and unapologetically focus on driving system-wide change where it’s needed most.”

Joanne Cound, Head of Investment, Sport England said, “We’re proud to partner with The Active Pregnancy Foundation. This partnership will make an enormous impact — not just to individual women’s lives, but to the wider system supporting maternal health and physical activity.”

Since its launch in 2020, The Active Pregnancy Foundation has built a national presence by educating and supporting those who work with pregnant and postnatal women, raising industry standards, addressing and highlighting knowledge gaps, and bringing sectors together to create system-change needed to make it easier for women to be active throughout their childbearing years.

CEOs Sally Kettle & Dr Marlize De Vivo share the news at the APF Awards 2025

(Picture Credit - Dr Emily Lovett)

“We founded the charity at a time when women’s health was still largely overlooked and undervalued,” reflects Dr De Vivo. “It’s taken time, energy, and a stubborn optimism to get to where we are today. We’re proud of the progress made and deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way. This partnership fuels our commitment to rewriting the story of women’s health.”

The new strategic partnership reflects the ambitions of Uniting the Movement, Sport England’s 10-year strategy to ensure that everyone – regardless of their background, circumstances or bank balance – has the opportunity to take part in sport and physical activity.

About Sport England

Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year to help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England - regardless of postcode, background or bank balance – to have the opportunity to get active. Tackling inequalities is at the heart of its 10-year strategy Uniting the Movement, with work focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active - like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.

For more information, visit: www.sportengland.org

About the National Lottery

Since it began in 1994, the National Lottery has raised more than £48 billion for good causes, supporting over 670,000 individual projects across the UK. Every week, National Lottery players raise around £30 million for arts, heritage, sport, and community projects. This funding is distributed by independent organisations, including Sport England, to support people and communities to thrive. The National Lottery’s support enables vital work — like that of The Active Pregnancy Foundation — to improve health, well-being, and inclusion through sport and physical activity.

For more information, visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk