CASE REPORT   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2022 December;181(12):992-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.21.04720-3

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

The necessity of female athlete triad education for postpartum women: a case study on insufficient health education

Shizuka TORASHIMA ¹ ✉, Mina SAMUKAWA ², Mikako SAKAMAKI-SUNAGA ³

¹ Sports Coaching Course, Department of Arts and Science, Hokkaido University of Education, Iwamizawa, Japan; ² Division of Physical Therapy, School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan; ³ Department of Children’s Sports Education, Nippon Sports Science University, Tokyo, Japan

This study proposes the importance of health and human rights education by considering the female athlete triad (FAT) issue using a case study approach. This study aims to contribute to the literature related to the condition, specific to women’s sports, and its impacts on the perinatal health of women. Narratives were captured using a semi-structured interview with a 31-year-old first-time pregnant woman at 4 months postpartum, who experienced FAT symptoms and human rights threats from sports leaders during her school years. The narrative content was subsequently classified into three main subcategories: “body and behavior during the athletics club days,” “mental states during retirement from athletics to marriage,” and “mental states from the onset of fertility treatment to pregnancy.” The participant experienced stress fractures and undernourishment associated with FAT, which was believed to have influenced her health during the perinatal period. Further, difficulties experienced in fertilization could be attributed to her irregular menstruation experiences during her youth, which she refrained from sharing because of strict coaching and instruction practices. She also underwent fertility treatment and reported experiencing stress during the process. Therefore, this study shows that FAT may affect fertility. It also suggests that FAT should be properly regarded in competitive sports as an important part of life after sport retirement. Along with linking FAT and health education, this study provides an opportunity to deliberate support mechanisms for those undergoing fertility treatment.

KEY WORDS: Female athlete triad syndrome; Fertility; Health education; Mentoring; Perinatal care