Olympic triathlete Emma Jeffcoat is in full-swing training, with this year’s Paris Games in her sights.
But this time last year, a rigorous exercise regime was the last thing on the elite athlete’s mind.
Instead, the 28-year-old — who represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics — thrust herself into fertility treatment, in the hope of one day becoming a mother.
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The single woman had always wanted to be a mum but had thought parenthood could wait.
“Having children was not necessarily something that I was looking at right now, or in the near future,” she tells 7Life.
But as Emma focuses on possible selection for Paris 2024, she also understands her biological clock is ticking, and she is eager to begin the fertility process.
The state of Emma’s reproductive system has been in question since she was a young girl.
At just three, she was in and out of hospital after her appendix ruptured.
She then had septicemia — a potentially life-threatening condition — and a bowel obstruction.
After being hospitalised for 12 months, the then-four-year-old was left with severe scar tissue on her ovaries and with fallopian tube damage.
“I have known from a young age that I would need to look into my fertility,” the former Surf Life Saver Ironwoman says.
“But becoming a mum is something I have always wanted.”
When puberty hit, the teen wasn’t surprised that her menstrual cycle appeared — and then disappeared for a decade.
At 22, Emma decided to find out the status of her reproductive system.
She visited IVF Australia, where she was told her egg count looked positive, and was advised to go back in about five years.
When injury sidelined the athlete in 2023, she thought it was the perfect time to revisit the clinic.
This time, the news was not as hopeful.
“The number and quality of my eggs had drastically reduced,” Emma reveals.
“The best thing I could do was just act then and there.”
So the triathlete began the process of collecting and freezing her eggs.
Emma was thrust into a world of injections as she prepared for two egg-harvesting procedures.
“I was anxious, upset and it was confronting,” she concedes.
“I’m an elite athlete so I rely on my body to perform.
“I put weight on and my hormones were all over the place.”
Thankfully for Emma, both egg collecting sessions were a success.
And she is now back to her regular training routine for world-class triathlons — endurance events comprising swimming, cycling and running.
She is sharing the beginning of her fertility journey to try to inspire other women to not be afraid to take control of their own destinies.
“I think you always assume you are going to fall pregnant easily,” Emma says.
She wants to open the conversation around fertility and believes schools should embrace the idea of early education.
“Females are now able to focus on career (but) the truth is we do have a body clock,” she says.
“While we are chasing career goals and career ambitions, we can investigate our own fertility and have the power to act when we need to.”
Empowering women to take control of their motherhood journey, Emma wants to encourage others to explore fertility treatment.
“There are always alterative avenues,” she says.
Virtus Health (IVF Australia, Melbourne IVF, Queensland Fertility Group and Tas IVF) are encouraging future parents to make a conscious decision and take steps to get pregnant with their new campaign ‘Readymoon’’.