Vitality Roses legend Chelsea Pitman spoke with Sky Sports on why her decision to call time on a stellar international netball career was fuelled by a dream to become a mother, and how she hopes talking openly about her fertility issues might inspire other athletes to do the same
By Maryam Clark
Last Updated: 26/09/23 2:18pm
Chelsea Pitman (Getty Images)
Chelsea Pitman has spoken candidly about her fertility issues before. The England legend had no qualms about retelling her story after announcing her retirement last week in an attempt to get other athletes to do the same.
The 35-year-old featured in her country’s first netball World Cup final match in Cape Town earlier this year, when England were beaten 61-45 by Australia.
A month later, she has now walked away from the international game to delve deeper into her issues and work on shifting the narrative around taboo topics surrounding pregnancy and reproduction.
“I think I’ve been honest that I’ve had two ectopic pregnancies and two miscarriages,” the former England goal attacker said on Sky Sports.
“My body has been my office for so long, and I lead an extremely healthy lifestyle. So, for me to encounter such difficulties time and again was quite a shock – and I live quite a physical lifestyle, too.
“I need to take this time to get more tests done, to look at the timeline of egg-freezing. That’s not a week, and there’s so much I still don’t know about my hormones. I hope my opening up and talking about it creates a safe space for other athletes and women to share their stories.
“I know I held it in for such a long time, and it wasn’t until I spoke about it and shared it [that] a weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I found myself in a community with many other women who go through the same thing.”
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Former Red Roses player Chelsea Pitman has announced her retirement from international netball, and says she is looking to prioritise pregnancy issues after hoping to create a ‘safe space’ for other women with similar struggles.
Pitman is open about the fact that her decision to retire, although a tough call to make, was partly fuelled by her dreams of becoming a mother.
“It was one of the most difficult decisions [I’ve ever made],” she said.
“I’d love to be able to say that I could play till I was 50, but just the landscape of where I am away from the netball court, I need to focus a little on that, and that sadly is due to age, and the commitment and sacrifice it takes to play for your country.
“We have our regular season, and then in our off-season, if you aren’t part of [an] international [team], you get to do what you want. But if you’re an international player, you’re giving up months of your life.
“At 35, I feel quite honest to say that looking down the fertility path, I want to be a mum. I need to make that sacrifice for me, for the future, knowing that I’ve achieved everything I’ve ever wanted to achieve”.
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Chelsea Pitman says it’s an ‘honour and privilege’ to get her 50th appearance for England as the team beat Fiji to book their spot in the Netball World Cup semi-final.
The next steps in her domestic playing career should help facilitate that.
She said: “I’m going to be playing in Australia in the Suncorp Super Netball League, but there’s a CPA (Collective Player Agreement) still not being signed, so contracts are not available for players to sign, which is quite frustrating.
“But it is the way it is at the moment, and I can’t let that stress me, so I’ve verbally agreed to a team – that’s as much as I can say, and I’m excited. I’m stepping away from the international stage, but I will still play elite netball.”
