C-section, breastfeeding and pelvic floor: My journey back to WSL after having a baby

Arsenal defender Amanda Ilestedt in action — Amanda Ilestedt says she hopes she ‘can inspire other women to see that you don’t have to choose between motherhood and a professional football career’ - Getty Images/Catherine Ivill

Telegraph Sport has spoken to Arsenal and Sweden defender Amanda Ilestedt at various points over the past few months to gain an insight into her journey back to the football pitch after becoming a mother…

Training during pregnancy

Ilestedt announces her pregnancy on March 13, 2024, but continues to take part in light training.

You hear stories that you can’t train while you’re pregnant, you can’t walk, you can’t do all those things, so I feel very lucky that I can.

I am monitored for running and can still do football drills with some adjustments. I am also training at home.

Normally, you push yourself as an athlete. You know your limits and you want to push, push, push. This is the first time I have actually had to listen to my body, because I don’t want to risk anything.

I’m not allowed to go higher than 90 per cent of my maximum pulse. If I didn’t know that I would probably do that a lot.
I feel like I’m in a safe environment, which makes a huge difference. They are explaining to me why I cannot do things. It’s been nice to get feedback and then I can understand why I cannot push.

I’ve had some problems with my groin during the pregnancy and it does not make sense to push and then get a big injury there right before I give birth.

Amanda Ilestedt takes part in training while pregnant — Ilestedt was taking part in light training after announcing her pregnancy in March 2024 - Getty Images/David Price

Scaling back

Ilestedt reduces her training regime in the summer as she gets closer to her due date.

Now I am in the third trimester. I have had some complications, so I am not allowed to train.

That has been frustrating, because I was loving it and felt so good the whole time. I am not even allowed to go for a longer walk, which is really hard. Arsenal have been taking help from Emma Brockwell, who is a pelvic-floor specialist.

She has been guiding me and the medical team on what I can do and what I’m not allowed to do. From the start, when I got pregnant, I was doing a lot of pelvic-floor exercises to prepare for the birth and actually come back even stronger in a
way.

It’s really important but it’s been so nice to have someone who is an expert in the subject.

First weeks post-birth

Ilestedt did pelvic-floor work in preparation for a vaginal birth but ends up having a C-section. She gives birth to a daughter, Mila, on August 30, 2024.

I had to do a C-section and the first couple of weeks you’re not allowed to carry anything more than the baby. I have had to be quite still because of my complications during the whole birth experience. I have had to take it quite easy.

I am just trying to enjoy the time with my daughter and family. It really is like you are in your own little bubble with your family and everything that’s important is around little Mila. Right now, I am just enjoying being a mum.

Return to training

After easing back into exercise, she returns to team training at the start of December.

When you return to training after giving birth, you can tell your body has been through something… I wouldn’t say dramatic, but more than what I am used to.

When the whole stomach is opened, you have to find the muscles again. I have been doing a lot of hard exercises and trying to find that connection again. I can tell every week I’m getting stronger. The first couple of sessions, I felt like, “Oh my God, this was a long time ago”.

But it’s crazy how the body is adapting and getting used to stuff so fast. I’m surprised how well it’s going. The power and explosiveness is the thing you lose first, but it’s also the thing you can build back quite fast. I still feel I have a bit to go, but it’s been a good development.

I’m so grateful to Arsenal for everything, the support they have been giving to me and my family – both before and after. It’s my first time as a mother, so I did not know what to expect.

Amanda Ilestedt during training at Arsenal's Sobha Realty Training Centre — Ilestedt returned to full team training at the start of December - Getty Images/David Price

Having a child, you know that it’s going to be hard and it’s not going to be the same. I can’t expect myself to be at the top of my fitness.

One of the hardest things has been to listen to my body more. You will always have some part of you where there is more pain somewhere and you will push through even if you have pain. That has been my biggest learning.

I think the hardest thing is, I don’t know what to expect and how long it will take or if I am ever going to feel the same as before. I’ve been doing a lot of individual training with some of the injured players. A few team exercising bits, a passing drill. It’s just building a little bit more muscle-wise. I will be more ready in January.

I need to push now and start training really hard. I can’t wait to be back with everyone, to train and to play. Now I can see them in the small games during training and I’m like, “I want to be a part of it”. But I know that I need to have a period where I’m working really hard to get the fitness level back, but I’m excited about it.

Breastfeeding

Ilestedt balances her training schedule with feeding Mila.

I feel like every day is a new thing you have to get used to. Me and Mila have a room for ourselves where I can breastfeed. She doesn’t really want the bottle yet, so she is dependent on me.

I think they say you’re burning 400 or 500 calories more with breastfeeding because you have to produce the milk, so I need to have more energy for that.

I have a few friends who are in the same process as I am. One of my best friends, Elin Rubensson, my Sweden team-mate, gave birth four years ago, so I was able to ask her, “What did you do, how long did you breastfeed, how did you manage this?” There’s not much research about it because it’s still new, but there are a lot more players who have been through it now.

My day goes a little like this: I come in, eat breakfast, then I have a gym session for an hour and a half. I am feeding Mila before I go out on the pitch.

I go to train, feed her again and then usually I have some bits left in the gym. If I didn’t have the opportunity to do that, it would be hard to solve everything.

It also wouldn’t be possible without my partner, Rainer. If he didn’t support me in this and be home with Mila when I can’t, it wouldn’t be possible, so I’m very grateful for that.

First game back

Five months after giving birth, Ilestedt makes her return to play as a substitute in Arsenal’s FA Cup fourth-round tie with Bristol City on January 29, 2025.

It feels so good. It’s one of the proudest moments for me: coming back after giving birth and afterwards being able to bring Mila onto the pitch. That has been my dream for a long time. It was very special. It seemed like Mila was enjoying it; she wasn’t crying.

I just wanted to try to keep some easy passes in the beginning because I had been so pumped up for the whole day.

Over the Christmas break, I had my individual plan and every week I was just increasing everything. The last couple of weeks, I’ve been more on the field with the girls, in training. It’s so cool because after every training session and after every week I feel a lot better.

A night to remember for Amanda ❤️ pic.twitter.com/IGLxeKeMq3
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) January 30, 2025

I’m really grateful for Rainer, he takes a lot of responsibility at home for Mila when I’m not there. She’s starting to take more of the bottle now, so we’ve got into more of a routine, which feels good.

Almost two weeks I’ve been in full training, so it hasn’t been that long. You never know with the body how it will react when you increase from being on the field for three days a week to every day.

Stepping up

As her training increases, she gets more game time, including an Arsenal Under-21s match against Manchester United on February 12.

I feel every week I am taking a step forward in terms of increasing my speed and change of direction. I think those are things I struggled with most in the beginning.

From a recovery perspective, I haven’t played a huge amount of minutes yet but I feel good. I feel under-loaded with training. When you’re in a rehab phase, you train a lot and you go. When you stop playing, you have to be fresh to the game, so it’s less load.

Today, I played 60 minutes in an under-21 game to see if I could handle that. It was to tick a box and now I will be able to be available for 90. I feel good in team training too, which is nice.

Mila was at the game and I scored – she screamed right before it went in! She could see it was coming. It’s really nice having her there at games, I can’t really describe the feeling.

I made my first league appearance since giving birth as a 95th-minute substitute in our 4-3 win at Manchester City a couple of weeks ago. I came on while we were defending a corner and trying to see out the game.

It was nice they had that trust in me in that situation. That’s one of my strengths, defending and attacking set-pieces, so I’m happy I could help the team.

For six of nine months of the pregnancy, I wasn’t able to have any contact in training, so I have to admit that, in the beginning, I was like, “Can I go into this situation?” I was so used to taking a step back.

But I think that’s also something that I feel comfortable with now more and more in training. It feels more natural. In the beginning, I really had to think twice before realising, “Yes, I am allowed to go in there”. The more I have been training in game situations, that comes more naturally.

Motherhood and football

Ilestedt is now settling into a routine as both a mother and professional footballer.

I do miss Mila a lot when I am playing and training. Rainer is doing a huge job for us both, being home and taking care of her when I’m not there. When I’m in training and on the field, I’m so focused on being there. If I started to think that I miss her during a game that would not be the best timing. Afterwards, having the reward of seeing her, like when I had my comeback, it is so nice to have the moment of having her with me.

Arsenal's Amanda Ilestedt with her partner Rainer and their baby Mila — Ilestedt with her partner Rainer and their daughter Mila - Getty Images/Alex Burstow

I hope that Mila will one day look up to me and feel proud. Proud that her mum managed to return to football at the highest level after going through pregnancy and childbirth – and that she gets to be part of this journey.

If I didn’t have football, I would probably have stayed home for many more months, but I wanted to come back as soon as possible. If I’m away for a long time, I think, especially when she’s so small, the guilt feeling is absolutely there. But she’s also very happy with her dad.

I have my routine in the morning: feeding Mila, then I’m pumping, then I’m breastfeeding before I leave so she is satisfied until I get back. It’s nice she can stay at home now and doesn’t have to come into the club every day.

When we were away for the Manchester City game in February, we travelled there separately instead of me being on the bus and them being in the car, which was nice. Then they could be in the hotel with me. It was really well organised from the club. To be able to bring her to away games makes it easier.

She didn’t enjoy the game as much in Manchester, she was challenging her dad! There were seven goals in the game and he said he saw only one. To be fair, it was in the middle of her napping time.

The club gave her an Arsenal jersey with my name, which is so cute. She has it on all the time, even at home. She is growing so fast, so maybe we need to buy a new kit for her.

We have the English Mother’s Day coming up, and Sweden’s Mother’s Day is actually the same weekend as the Champions League final. I feel like every first thing is something special.

This journey has been incredible – challenging, but so worth it. My biggest dream in life has always been to start a family, and I feel incredibly happy and grateful to have done so. I knew I wanted to continue to play the sport I love, but of course you wonder if it’s going to be possible. I hope I can inspire other women to see that you don’t have to choose between motherhood and a professional football career. It is possible to do both.

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