When Helen Hardy was at school, the thought of going out onto the football pitch whilst on her period was terrifying. Instead of focusing on the game, she'd worry about what could go wrong.
So when the England Women's football team announced that their new home kit will feature blue, instead of white shorts, it felt like a moment to celebrate.
The Lionesses have been playing in all-white home strip, including at the European Championship that they hosted and won last summer.
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During that tournament, England winger Beth Mead and midfielder Georgia Stanway spoke out about the issue of playing in the colour while on their periods.
"It's very nice to have an all-white kit, but sometimes it's not practical when it's the time of the month," said Stanway, who previously played for Manchester City.
On Monday, a number of new Nike kits for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand were launched, including England home and away strips that both have blue shorts.
The change has been commended by female athletes from across the sporting world, who have hailed it and important moment for breaking down the barriers faced by women in sport.
Helen Hardy, who is the founder of Manchester Laces, a team inclusive to women, non-binary and transgender people, believes the conversations now happening an elite level, will filter down to amateur and grassroots football.
"It's brilliant to talk about the subject in general and hopefully that leads to the next generation being able to talk about it more when they experience their first period," she said, speaking to BBC Breakfast.
"We need to remove all barriers for girls feeling uncomfortable to play sport, and there are tonnes of them. If this is just one more thing where they feel they can go out with confidence in playing football or any sport then that's fantastic."
Sarina Wiegman’s team are set to showcased the new attire during Thursday’s Finalissima meeting with Brazil at Wembley, before the friendly against Australia at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on Tuesday, April 11.
It comes after Manchester City's women changed from wearing white shorts to burgundy earlier in the season, to help players feel more comfortable while on their periods.
"It's stopping girls at the moment," added Helen. "It certainly was a barrier to me growing up playing football. It certainly made me nervous and not feel like I wanted to get on the pitch.
"Often you'd be given the replica of the men's team kit and there would be no thought about it. The whole time you're thinking oh my god I hope nothing happens and you're going out on to the pitch with that on your mind and you want to be going out just focusing on the beautiful game."
Rachel Brown-Finnis, a former England goalkeeper, said the issue was never discussed publicly when she was part of the team. "Of course internally we discussed how inconvenient it was," she said.
"The Lionesses have put the talking point out there for people to discuss and they are high profile successful role models who I’m sure young girls look up to. To normalise these conversations, it’s just something that will hopefully break that stigma. There’s nothing dirty or sinister about being on your period.
"I was a PE teacher before becoming England goal keeper and I remember girls would come in cowering that they were on their period. It should be something that we talk about and that boys know about as much as girls. Nobody should be ashamed to discuss it."
The shorts also feature a leak-protection liner in response to athletes' feedback - something Rachel says will improve confidence among women and girls when on the pitch.
"We are thrilled to offer this new innovation to all athletes playing for Nike-sponsored federations this summer," said Jordana Katcher, vice-president of Nike women's global sport apparel.
"Professional footballers play two 45-minute halves without breaks. Many told us they can spend several minutes on-pitch concerned that they may experience leakage from their period.
"When we showed them this innovation, they told us how grateful they were to have this short to help provide confidence when they can't leave the pitch."
The kits go on sale to the public from the week beginning Monday June 5, ahead of the World Cup starting on July 20.
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