Louise Burrows thought "this is it" as she pulled on her footy boots for Australia's final match at the 2006 Rugby World Cup in Canada.
She'd been juggling work and sport, something her male counterparts rarely had to do, and now was looking forward to starting a family.
But as she sat in the changeroom she asked herself the same question many mothers around the world had pondered. Did having a family mean she had to give up her dreams?
"To be honest, I did ask myself the question 'would I be happy if I never played another game of rugby'? Ultimately my goal was to have a family, I was done," she said.
Almost 14 years later Burrows is still playing rugby. She's been to another two World Cups and played three seasons of Super W.
And she's a mother of two.
Ultimately my goal was to have a family, I was done.
Louise Burrows
Having a child once meant the end of a woman's career, sporting or otherwise.
The role of the mother has changed in sport. On Mother's Day we usually hear football players thanking their mums for the half-time oranges or washing their sweat-stained jerseys.
But as Burrows proves, there's so much more to it. No longer are women the faceless force working behind the scenes, they're the athletes to follow and be inspired by.
So this year The Canberra Times spoke to five mums who have broken down traditional gender role to prove you can have kids and be an elite athlete.
THE FIRST BUT NOT THE LAST
The introduction of parental care policies has paved the way for more mums to play their chosen sport professionally.
Previously, female athletes would have to put their family plans on hold to achieve their goals in sport.
Former Diamond Bec Bulley retired from elite netball following the 2015 World Cup to start a family. Less than two years later, she answered the desperate call of Julie Fitzgerald to join the newly-established Giants as an injury replacement for the inaugural Super Netball season.
Bulley became the first mother to play Super Netball, coming out of retirement just nine months after giving birth.
Her daughter, Indie, became the pint-sized product of a landmark parental care policy that was introduced at the league's inauguration.
"I loved it. It was just really nice to be able to be a full-time mum and an elite athlete, it was a good balance," Bulley said.
"My job was to go out and exercise, be fit, healthy and play netball - what better job can you have than that?
"Having Indie along for the ride was great, it meant I didn't have to put too much pressure on myself. At the end of the day she was just happy to see me and gave me a hug, so it didn't matter whether you had won or lost."
The Giants provided Bulley a babysitter at training, hired cars which could take a baby-seat, and also paid for her husband to travel with the team to take care of Indie while she was playing.
My job was to go out and exercise, be fit, healthy and play netball - what better job can you have than that?
Bec Bulley
It was made possible by Super Netball's groundbreaking parental care policy which includes allowances for players with infants under 12 months to travel with a carer at the club's expense, private health insurance and income protection for up to two years.
Cricket Australia raised the benchmark with a new parental leave policy last year which allows players to take up to 12 months of paid leave among many other benefits.
Football Federation Australia and the AFL also updated their policies last year, while the WNBL established its first scheme in late 2018.
Former Canberra Capitals player and now assistant coach Carly Wilson gave birth to her daughter Lola mid-way through the 2019-20 season.
She says the implementation of the WNBL's parental policies was a huge achievement for the league, but concedes there's still more to be learned from other sports.
"If we want to keep encouraging women to play sport and be role models, we have to be able to facilitate them to do both," Wilson said.
"Such a huge part of being a woman is being able to be a mother and juggle that with your career.
Such a huge part of being a woman is being able to be a mother and juggle that with your career.
Carly Wilson
"It's crucially important we recognise that and start supporting female athletes as much as we can."
PEAKING POST-PREGNANCY
Medals, record times and professional debuts are just a handful of stunning achievements sporting mums have made on their climb up the post-birth mountain.
There are many physical hurdles for post-partum athletes on their return to sport and everybody is affected differently.
Despite the physical, lifestyle and hormonal changes, some mothers have actually peaked in their performances and career after having a baby.
Olympic race walker Beki Smith clocked three of the fastest times of her career after having her son Lennon in 2013. She broke the 90-minute barrier in the 20-kilometre event at the World Race Walk Cup while aiming to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games.
The 33-year-old admits while she did feel physically stronger post-partum, part of her success has been driven by the need to be a role model for her son.
Just because I've had a baby doesn't mean my world ends. It's just really the beginning.
Olympian and Commonwealth Games race walker Beki Smith
"Just because I've had a baby doesn't mean my world ends. It's just really the beginning," Smith said.
"I've actually performed better than what I had before having Lenny. Some of that probably comes down to what's more painful than having a baby for your body?
"My pain threshold was probably higher as well as being stronger, so I was able to push through those sessions once I got back rock and rolling a bit better.
"But I also think for me, Lenny has definitely kept me in the sport longer than I would have been otherwise.
"When I talk to other athlete mums, they just think of their children while they compete or are having a hard session to get them though.
"It's really cool to think our children have such an influence on us."
Like Smith went on to compete at the Commonwealth Games after having Lenny, Burrows played in another two World Cups and the inaugural Super W season.
The 42-year-old prop has two children, Fletcher and Georgia, who love watching her play at Canberra Stadium.
Burrows scored a try in the Brumbies season-opening match this year and her son passed on praise from his peers at school later that week.
"Apparently the seniors high-fived him in the corridor that week, saying 'your mum had an awesome game, Fletch.' So that's kind of cool," Burrows smiled.
"He doesn't get embarrassed at all and tells the world, I'm grateful I have my children's support."
Smith and Burrows might be established stars in the capital, but some athletes like Canberra United's Jessie Rasschaert made their professional debut post-partum.
The 32-year-old Canberran was busy balancing work, football and motherhood when she made her W-League debut late last year.
It came almost two years after Rasschaert gave birth to her first child Tristan, who was conceived on her fourth attempt of IVF.
Her wife Jen gave birth to their second son Leo half-way through the W-League season, adding another dimension to Rasschaert's incredible rise to the national stage.
"It was pretty special. There was one game I got to walk out onto the field with Tristan, it hit home then that I was a mum and a professional soccer player now," Rasschaert said.
"There was certainly a lot of buzz around, people were interested in me being a mum and making my W-League debut.
"It's a big deal and maybe I don't give myself enough credit for it, it feels like a surreal thing that's happened to me.
"It's amazing to play in the W-League for the first time after having a baby, but in saying that, it wasn't just me who got myself there. I had a really big support base behind me."
EAT, SLEEP, BREASTFEED, REPEAT
Pram? Check. Cot? Check. Car set, bottle, baby on board? Check.
The initial return to play is one of the hardest hurdles for mothers to overcome. Despite how badly they might be itching to rejoin their team or training, there's a newborn baby and a post-partum body to take care of.
Rasschaert looks back on the first time she went for a run and laughs: "Oh, that did not go well. I had to give myself another two weeks."
Smith had a slow start to training because the race walk movement irritated the scar tissue from her caesarian section. Yet she still managed to complete her first race just four months after Lennon was born.
Then there's the breastfeeding.
There was certainly a lot of buzz around, people were interested in me being a mum and making my W-League debut. It's a big deal and maybe I don't give myself enough credit for it.
Canberra United's Jessie Rasschaert
A typical Super Netball match day was bound by a busy schedule for Bulley, who brought Indie along to the venue.
She'd feed at home, pack the car, drive, feed again, warm up, play and then feed once more when she returned to the change room.
Bulley now plays the juggling act with two infants in her coaching role with Giants Academy, with Xander joining the family late last year.
"It's a lot different with two, you get a lot busier and don't have as much time to yourself. In saying that, I'm probably still doing as much netball but I'm just not the one running around on the court," Bulley said.
"It works really well for me because my husband Randall is a school teacher, so we do a handover of the kids when I go off for training. It's a great balance."
