3 Women’s experiences of their menstrual cycle

Show description|Hide description

The image shows eight wooden blocks lined up, each with one letter on them. The letters spell the word ‘hormones’.

Finch (2019) explains that each woman will experience their cycle differently and this experience can change over time and even month to month. This is why it is so important that athletes are able to talk about their menstrual cycle with their coach, trainer and support team. In Activity 3 you’ll hear from three coaches who have also been athletes about their experiences of the menstrual cycle and exercise.

Activity 3 Coaches discuss their own experiences

Timing: Allow about 15 minutes

Listen to the audio below where Simon Rea interviews three female academics who are colleagues about the impact of their menstrual cycles. Then answer the following questions:

1. How do the experiences of the three females differ?
2. What benefits do they find from exercise when they experience menstrual symptoms?

Download this audio clip.Audio player: sfps_1_menstrual_cycle_audio1.mp3

Show transcript|Hide transcript

Transcript

SIMON REA

Welcome to Candice, Jess, and Caroline, who are fellow academics on the sport and fitness qualification. They are also athletes and mothers to daughters. And today, we’re going to have a discussion about menstrual cycles. Firstly, could you tell us about your own experiences of the menstrual cycle? Do you get symptoms at particular times of the cycle? Jess, could we start with you?

JESS PINCHBECK

Yes, of course, Simon. So as a teenager growing up, I played quite a lot of sport, netball being my main sport. But I didn’t really have any issues at all with my menstrual cycle, in fact, I used to find that being active actually helped any side effects, like tummy cramps or lethargy. It wasn’t actually until later in life after having children that menstruation began to impact on my life with really heavy periods that led to extremely low iron levels.

SIMON REA

So and that left you fatigued and run-down, is that right-- the low iron?

JESS PINCHBECK

Yeah, low iron, it just causes you to feel tired very quickly-- so struggling to do the activities and then also impacted recovery afterwards as well with really aching muscles.

CANDICE LINGAM-WILLGOSS

Yeah, probably a little bit like Jess. I played a lot of sport when I was a child at school. And I went to a boarding school, actually. So I struggled a bit about learning how to manage my menstrual cycle. You know, how do I cope with it when I’m trying to play lots of sport? So I used to get physical symptoms, feel a bit bloated, and get stomach cramps, which just made me feel a bit fed up, really. But also, I used to get some sort of psychological impact from it-- so definitely less able to cope with stress. And I think my mood is generally a bit lower when I have my period.

SIMON REA

Yeah, so whereabouts in the cycle was that? Was it towards the end of the 28 days?

CANDICE LINGAM-WILLGOSS

That would be probably just in the build up to when I would actually get my period and then during that early stages. Towards the end of it, it wasn’t such an issue to me. But yeah, before I would actually get my period and the first couple of days, I used to feel kind of quite low in my mood. Yeah, and I did have some physical symptoms then.

SIMON REA

And same question to Caroline.

CAROLINE HEANEY

OK, so my sport of athletics, I was one of those annoying people that didn’t really have any symptoms. So I felt fairly pretty much the same at any stage of my cycle. And I know that wasn’t the same for everybody because I trained with people who did have difficulties. But I never felt that it had a particular impact on me.

SIMON REA

OK. I wonder if that is quite rare. I guess, every woman’s experience is different. But I wonder if that is rare. I mean, you say that other people in your training group didn’t have the same experience.

CAROLINE HEANEY

Yeah, I mean, I don’t think it’s rare. I think there were other people. Maybe they just didn’t vocalise that they were having difficulties. But there were one or two people that did have issues and others like me who didn’t. But maybe there are people that don’t like to say if they’re struggling.

SIMON REA

Thank you very much to the three of you for sharing your experiences with us. As I think all of us have said, it can be difficult talking about the menstrual cycle. But hopefully, with you all talking about your experiences, it will encourage other people to do the same and feel comfortable discussing their own cycles with their coaches, trainers and partners.

End transcript

Download

 

Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

To use this interactive functionality a free OU account is required. Sign in or register.

Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

Discussion

1. All three females experience their cycles in very different ways with Caroline explaining that she experiences no symptoms at all while Candice is more affected. She experiences stomach cramps and bloating as well as psychological symptoms such as being less able to deal with stress and being aware of a low mood. Jess has very specific problems where heavy menstrual bleeding led to low iron levels and feelings of fatigue and aching muscles associated with that.
2. Both Candice and Jess explained that menstrual symptoms are slightly alleviated by exercising and that it improves general psychological wellbeing. In particular, Jess refers to how exercise helped to alleviate stomach cramps and the lethargy she experienced during her period.

It is not always easy for some women to talk about this aspect of their health with their coach or trainer. It is very personal information to share, and it will depend on the nature of the relationship with their coach or trainer.

Also, Emma Ross (cited in Finch, 2019) points out that because female athletes have fought hard to gain the same opportunities, prize money and the same access to resources in sport as men, they may be reluctant to appear to be ‘different’. Many female athletes want to be seen exclusively as athletes and do not want to be viewed or treated differently because of their reproductive system.

This is why it is so important to reframe the narrative around cycles and periods, in sport and in wider society. As you will discover in this course, a period is a vital sign of health, and a healthy menstrual cycle is reflective of a healthy body and is a positive feature of a female athlete’s physiology. The hormones of the cycle have a positive influence on physical development as well as resilience and psychological health.