
Irish footballer Amber Barrett: After 17 years of playing, my heavy periods still cause anxiety
A third of women suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding which can significantly impact their energy levels and cause anaemia. Irish footballer Amber Barrett is one of them. She and others share their stories
Irish footballer Amber Barrett (29) vividly remembers when she had her first period. It happened while she was in her Donegal home preparing for a GAA football match in Letterkenny. She was only 12 years old at the time and didn't realise the true impact it would have on her going forward.
'I remember that evening going out and playing the game, and I actually had a really, really good game, and I remember my mum had said to me, 'well, you know, maybe, it's not going to affect you so much in your sport,' but obviously that was such an early stage and it probably hadn't hit the ground running,' she shares.

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