Content warning: This story mentions disordered eating.

Some of New Zealand's top female athletes are joining a global movement to break down the barriers and stigma related to menstruation.

Among them are our Football Ferns who ditched their all-white strip last year to reduce anxiety while playing during their period.

"We talked to each other when we were playing, like, 'hey, I've got my period so just a heads up if I leak through'," said player Olivia Chance.

"It's about being comfortable, we all make adjustments in sport, that's why cyclists have padding in their shorts to make it easier for them to ride."

One month out from the women's FIFA World Cup, a one-day symposium called Hine o te Kura was held yesterday in Auckland to raise awareness and educate young people about period equity.

Twenty-three percent of people in New Zealand have had to miss work or school at some point in their lives because they didn't have period products to wear, and 70,000 experience period poverty.

"I want our young people to be able to feel empowered to be proud around the fact that we can talk about our period, our ikura," said MC Arizona Leger, who is also a director on the Counties Manukau Rugby Union Board.

"We're in a better spot now and a better space to be able to encourage and hold those conversations for our wāhine and with our communities so that we can not only get around this topic, but empower people to be talking about our ikura and our health in general."

FIFA host region programme director Santha Brown said it was a poignant time to be having these discussions.

The one-day symposium was “a great example of the legacy benefits that co-hosting the largest women's sporting event in the world brings to the region and our communities", she said.

"The purpose is to break down menstrual equity barriers in education and in sport."

But it's not just football athletes and supporters breaking down barriers when it comes to menstruation.

Silver Fern Captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio said her team often had frank conversations about menstruation and how it affected them as athletes.

Eliminating the stigma has meant coaches can better respond to the team's needs.

"I get way more fatigued leading up to it, my muscles can spasm differently," she said.

"Our trainer really understands it now too, so he's really open if we've got questions or if something is happening to us, we can take it to him and he'll be like, 'okay, let's just change this or see how you feel with this'."

Ekenasio is an ambassador for AWWA Period Care, the country’s first Māori-owned menstruation product line.

Founder Michele Wilson said traditional ways of managing and understanding periods were changing.

"It might be a time where wāhine, instead of training, will be at home or on the sidelines, learning more sporting techniques. It's about the coach and the sport team gathering around her and supporting her and lifting her up," she said.

"If you feel that you are strong during your ikura then you can go hard, but actually let's normalise conversations about the fact that some wāhine experience pain and fatigue during their ikura and it's okay to take time out."

They're conversations former New Zealand runners Esther Keown and Lydia O'Donnell wished they'd had as teens.

"We both grew up and really loved the sport of running, but unfortunately for us the lack of education about female physiology really impacted coaches and support people who worked with us," said Keown.

"We were put under a lot of pressure to look a certain way as an athlete, to lose weight."

Both athletes developed disordered eating habits as a result.

"We both lost our menstrual cycles and suffered from relative energy deficiency syndrome which is what happens when you're under fuelling and over training."

They're now co-founders of Femmi, a coaching and education service, they hope will create safer environments for athletes.

"Both of us had a long journey to find health again, mentally, physically and emotionally, and we really want to change the game for women in sport."

Where to get help:

• Eating Disorders Association of New Zealand (EDANZ). Call 0800 2 33269 or email info@ed.org.nz
• 1737: The nationwide, 24/7 mental health support line. Call or text 1737 to speak to a trained counsellor.
• Suicide Crisis Line: Free call 0508 TAUTOKO or 0508 828 865. Nationwide 24/7 support line operated by experienced counsellors with advanced suicide prevention training. 
• Youthline: Free call 0800 376 633, free text 234. Nationwide service focused on supporting young people.
• OUTLine NZ: Freephone 0800 OUTLINE (0800 688 5463). National service that helps LGBTIQ+ New Zealanders access support, information and a sense of community.

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