Abbie Ward returned to her job as a professional rugby player 17 weeks after giving birth.
Abbie Ward hopes her story will help other women in rugby and all sport get support around maternity and childcareA professional rugby player who had a baby and returned to the sport 17 weeks later says she is hoping to pave the way for other women.
Ms Ward, who also plays for Bristol Bears, gave birth to daughter Hallie nine months ago and said with the Six Nations getting more competitive each year and the Red Roses being "phenomenal", part of the challenge was just getting back into the team.Abbie Ward during a lineout at the Rugby Union Women's World Cup final in November 2022
Being both a mother and a professional rugby player is definitely a challenge but it is nice to have a separation, she added. "I was very lucky as they had an amazing rugby community... the brilliant thing was everyone mixed up so a six-year-old girl passing to a first team guy, passing to someone's mum, passing to someone's uncle," she said.
"Having to do a line-out and lift a 100kg guy helped me when I was lifting an 80kg women," she added.Abbie Ward during a line-out at the Rugby World Cup final in November 2022 Ms Ward said Bristol Bears have been "brilliant and proactive", organising a changing table and asking what else she needs."Part of this is about normalising and shedding light. In the men's side, so many of them have children and families.And there is also a physical consequence to choosing to have a baby while still competing for women."Having a baby is not just going back down to base camp, it's going all the way down into Nepal and you have to start again.
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