51�Թ�

A BBC Sport study of elite British sportswomen last year found almost two-thirds of respondents said their performance was affected by their period, or that they have missed training or competition because of their period.

Even if they haven't become professional sportswomen, many members of the club have seen their confidence grow and have persuaded their families to let them go to university and delay marriage until they are older.

This elite sportswoman says she "became a bit obsessive with counting calories and weighing things" until she realised she had become "dangerously light".

More than two thirds of 143 elite British sportswomen who responded to a BBC Sport questionnaire said the majority of the equipment they used was not specifically designed for a woman.

Professor Elliott-Sale says "there's nothing wrong" with sportswomen using hormonal contraceptives to manage menstrual cycle symptoms.