British archer Jodie Grinham wants to speak openly about her experiences to increase the conversation about taboos such as menstruation and miscarriage.
About a British archer Jodie from Grinham reportedly became the first athlete to win a Paralympic medal while pregnant. At the Paris Paralympics, Grinham won the harness bow gold in the mixed team competition together by Nathan MacQueen with and bronze in the individual competition.
31-year-old Grinham has said that she is seven months pregnant.
– I’m not going to delay starting a family anymore because of my career. I should be able to do both, and that’s exactly what we decided. Here I am, competing seven months pregnant, an athlete told on the website of the Paralympics.
Sky News by Grinham has spent a lot of time with her coach preparing for her competition performance during pregnancy. For example, the trainer has moved Grinham and his stomach during practice so that he can get a workout in case the baby moves while aiming.
– It has been a real honor to know that the baby is there, and I have a little support bubble in my stomach, he quoth for NBC News.
Own medical team included
of Grinham was told having already established in advance that it would be an eight-minute journey from the Paralympic archery venue to the nearest hospital.
He had his own medical team with him in Paris, which included a midwife and a nurse. During his race trip, he also went to the hospital to make sure that everything is okay with the child growing in his stomach.
– Being disabled and pregnant is hard enough. Being an athlete and pregnant is hard enough. Putting all this together has been a journey. It’s been eventful, Grinham stated after the ranking round.
Grinham wasn’t content with just competing while pregnant, she wanted to show that winning medals is also possible.
The Briton wants to point out that life does not end with motherhood.
– Women need to know that there is life after motherhood. They can still pursue their dreams, whether they are sports, something creative or studies, archery quoth for the BBC.
Three miscarriages in the background
Grinham’s first child was born in 2022. Grinham has told having had three miscarriages before the birth of her first child.
Grinham and her partner had decided to postpone the pregnancy until after the 2016 Rio Paralympics due to the Zika virus and its associated risks. In the end, they decided that they would only start trying for a child after the Tokyo Paralympics.
– Then we had problems getting pregnant, which was heartbreaking.
Grinham says that after her third miscarriage, she had discussions about fertility treatment and adoption options while trying to train and compete.
The archer believes that his support networks have been better than many others in the same situation, because he has had people around him to talk to about difficult things.
According to Grinham, even menstruation is not talked about openly enough.
– They (menstruation) can affect people’s training. I have a hard time being in the gym during those times, but we don’t want to talk about it. Not to mention miscarriages.
Grinham feels that when the topic is taboo, it is difficult for women to get support.