Pregnancy, Pelvic Health & Performance: Episode 133 with Michelle Lyons

Hello and welcome to today’s episode – a bit off the normal schedule as I was teaching my Endometriosis Pain Management course over the weekend and then I was asked to come on the Claire Byrne show on Newstalk Radio to discuss the recent decision by the Spanish FA to support egg freezing for their female footballers.

Understandably, it was a brief overview on the radio but of course…I have thoughts that need a bit longer to explore so I thought – why not do a podcast episode!

In today’s episode, I’m exploring:

Why, at last, we are acknowledging that female athletes have reproductive lives!

How this should prompt a broader conversation about supporting female athletes throughout their reproductive lives rather than just focusing on fertility preservation. I believe that female-specific health is fundamental to performance and outline the need for individualized, informed decision-making regarding pregnancy and postpartum participation in sport; good resources for this include FIFA's "Stay in Play" and "Stepping into Play" decision aids.

I want to stress that supporting women requires addressing pelvic health, but also broader physical and psychological factors, and creating systems that allow athletes to make reproductive choices without compromising their sporting careers; advocating for an approach that recognizes women's physiological stages as integral rather than disruptive to athletic performance.

But it’s about physiology across the female lifespan, not just in elite sports. I believe that female athletes (actually all women!) should receive education about menstrual cycles, nutrition, fertility, and postpartum recovery, rather than being forced to choose between a sporting career and motherhood. I believe that supporting women's reproductive choices should be part of a broader conversation about creating an inclusive sporting environment that accommodates all women's life stages and decisions, from menstruation to menopause.

I really want to rephrase the question about women in sports from "can women have it all" to "what can we change about our systems so women don't have to choose." I believe there’s the need to create sporting environments that support women's health and bodies rather than requiring women to adapt to sports, a system that’s designed to support the needs of male athletes.

And of course…if you’d like to learn more about supporting female athletes, from recreational to high performance, at every age and stage…check out my online courses The Menstrual Detective, Pelvic Health for the Younger Female Athlete, Perinatal Pelvic Rehab (Preconception to Postpartum) and Flourish! The Menopausal Toolbox – all available at CelebrateMuliebrity.com

Until next time, Onwards & Upwards! Mx #celebratemuliebrity