West Ham Women captain Dagný Brynjarsdóttir has praised the vital support of her club throughout her pregnancy.
But her experiences raise questions about whether all players are receiving sufficient level of support when it comes to maternity leave.
Brynjarsdóttir announced in August that she would miss most of the 2023/24 season as she prepared to give birth to her second child.
She told talkSPORT how dealing with her pregnancy and trying to maintain her training schedule with West Ham had been a balancing act.
She said: «I'm not going to lie, I'm not great at being pregnant!
»It's just hard as an athlete when you're used to being fit, controlling your body and then all of a sudden you don't.
«I'm still pregnancy sick, even though I'm in the third trimester. Still throwing up most days, so it's a bit of a struggle.
»But I know it's just temporary, and I will get a great reward in the end so it's all going to be worth it."
When asked how vital it was that West Ham were supporting her throughout her pregnancy, Brynjarsdóttir said flexibility from her club was key.
She said: «Obviously, when you're pregnant as a football player, you have a different role on the team and just the hormones, everything, there's a lot of feelings, emotions going around.
»It's just very important that the club supports you — and supports you in every way.
«I try to come in every day — but still, there are days where I'm too sick to come in. And they're ok with it.
»They support my training sessions, I get treatment. Just feeling the support through the pregnancy and knowing that they're going to be there for you after giving birth, I think that's a big thing."
And while the West Ham captain might not be with her team on the pitch, she is still
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