Gynaecological Health Patterns and Motherhood Experiences of Female Professional Football Players

Dimakatso Althea Ramagole, Dina Christa Janse van Rensburg, Charlotte Cowie, Ritan Mehta, Gopika Ramkilawon, Babette M. Pluim, Gino Kerkhoffs and Vincent Gouttebarge ()
Additional contact information
Dimakatso Althea Ramagole: Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dina Christa Janse van Rensburg: Section Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
Charlotte Cowie: The Football Association (England), National Football Centre, St George’s Park, Needwood DE13 4PD, UK
Ritan Mehta: The Football Association (England), National Football Centre, St George’s Park, Needwood DE13 4PD, UK
Gopika Ramkilawon: Department of Statistics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
Babette M. Pluim: Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gino Kerkhoffs: Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Vincent Gouttebarge: Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the gynaecological health patterns, contraceptive use, body perception, and motherhood experiences of female professional football players. The participants were recruited via email using FIFPRO (Football Players Worldwide). Online questionnaires were completed by consenting participants. The mean age at menarche was 13.5 years with an average cycle length of 26 days, and a bleeding period of 5 days. Cycle irregularities were experienced by 30%, and menstrual symptoms by 74%. Half of the participants used contraceptives, 60% using hormonal contraceptives, primarily oral contraceptive pills (38%), followed by implants (20%). The body satisfaction score was normal but there was a high drive-for-thinness (DT) score. The motherhood rate was low (1%), with participants experiencing normal conception, vaginal delivery, return to training after 6 weeks, and return to competition after 12 weeks. Our findings are consistent with findings in other elite female athletes with cycle irregularities and a significant number of cycle-related symptoms. The majority of those using contraceptives preferred hormonal contraceptives, reflecting trends seen in other elite athletes. While body satisfaction scores were normal, there was a high DT score, similar to that observed in lean and weight-category sports. The motherhood rate was low, consistent with previous findings in professional football players and other elite athletes. This may be due to a lack of financial support during pregnancy and the post-partum period. FIFPRO and its affiliated unions are negotiating better contracts for female football players.

Keywords: female; professional; football; menstrual cycle; contraceptives; motherhood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/136/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/136/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:2:p:136-:d:1572876

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().