“Being a mom is life changing”

After a serious injury which occurred in October 2021, the French international from Olympique Lyonnais, who gave birth to a little Maryam last summer, returned to the Rhone group in mid-December. She looks back on her last beautiful and trying months.

HIS NEW LIFE
“Life is very, very beautiful”

“At the end of the year, we came to seek happiness with you… Life is beautiful, Amel?
She is very, very beautiful to me. Being a mom is life changing. It’s a lot of sacrifices but it’s a nice change.

Aren’t the nights too hard?
At the beginning, it was hard, I struggled as soon as I left childbirth because I had 30 hours of labor completed by a cesarean section. Then I breastfed. Breastfeeding, not sleeping, getting up 5-6 times a night, every hour or two, was difficult. Since mid-September, she only wakes up once! For the average person, 6 hours of sleep may not seem like a lot, but for me right now it’s like a 10 hour night!

“Yes, sometimes I cracked and it was very hard. What keeps you going is the love you have for your child. We know why she wakes up: she is hungry, she needs closeness and contact. »

Does it test your patience?
Honestly sometimes, we crack. We are not used to it, it is new and we are perhaps not conditioned to experience it. We should be accompanied more. Yes, sometimes I cracked and it was very hard. What keeps you going is the love you have for your child. We know why she wakes up: she is hungry, she needs closeness and contact.

You gave birth to little Maryam on July 5, 2022. What baby is she?
She is full of pep, she fidgets a lot and is growing day by day. She loves her mama’s arms, we gave her that habit (she laughs). She is calm and only cries when she is hungry.

???? Congratulations to ???????????????? ???????????????????? on the birth of his little Maryam ????

A new Fenotte in the family. Succession is assured ❤️???? pic.twitter.com/4YVfdx1xm0

— OL Féminin (@OLfeminin) July 5, 2022

Who does she look like?
When we first saw her, we weren’t sure who she looked like the most. There are days when she pulls more on her father’s side and others when she’s going to be more like me. Sometimes we tease each other with my husband saying to each other: ”she doesn’t look like you”. She has both of us and I find myself there all the same, already with her hair! (She shows us a photo on her smartphone wallpaper and bursts out laughing).

Would you say that it is easy to combine the life of a mother, a woman and an athlete?
I won’t lie to you. If I had to do it again, I don’t think I would. I am shared. On the one hand, we have to move forward in France and for that, we need pioneers because it would be discriminatory to prevent us from having a child. On the other hand, there is the reality and the demands of the sports profession. Today, I want to breastfeed but will I be able to do it as much as I want? Are you going to tell me that introducing the milk and mixing the two is good too? If I do, it’s like putting my baby on hold because of my work. For me, it’s hard to do both. There is also one thing that we do not control and that is the engine of the athlete: sleep and, through it, recovery. When you don’t have children, the invisible preparation and training is you and your conscience. But now, assuming I do everything perfectly, if my daughter wakes up five times a night for two years, I’m not going to sleep. If I don’t sleep, I won’t be able to play a 90 minute game or hold a 2 hour training session. To choose today, I would wait.

The number 10 during its last appearance in the jersey of the French team in Slovenia in September 2021 (photo ICON SPORT).

What is your organization?
I express my milk and we try to organize with my husband to keep the little one. He is a physical trainer and sometimes we have our training sessions at the same time. The club allowed me to come with my nanny. Until she is 1 year old, she can even accompany us on trips. In terms of organization, I come with the little one once or twice to the club, when my husband is finished, he comes to pick her up.

Can you protect your baby from media coverage?
Yes, I do not want to expose it on the networks. Even when we arrive at the stadium, I ensure that it is not filmed in order to preserve it. In the locker room too, I told the girls no stories on Instagram or anything. They respect him. It’s my choice. Take the example of “Björki” (Sara Björk Gunnarsdottir, teammate at OL between 2020 and 2022 and also a mother)conversely, she puts her child on social networks.

Maryam, is it almost the child of the club?
Everybody is happy. When you see a baby, you forget your worries a little. When the girls come out of training, they want to take care of it, wear it, see how it has changed. wendie (Renard) and Amanda (Henry) kept it for me recently when I was doing my individual sessions. It allowed me to breathe and focus on my recovery. »

HER PREGNANCY AND THE DESIRE FOR MATERNITY
“The good of my injury is Maryam!” »

“When did this desire for motherhood go back to?
It’s related to my injury. I discussed with the surgeon who told me that to come back for the Euro (2021) would be too fair. I also asked him if living a pregnancy during my recovery was risky, he replied no. We weighed the pros and cons with my husband and we said why not? It worked fast (laughs) ! The good of my wound is Maryam!

You met your partner in 2011 before getting married religiously in 2012 then civilly in 2018. More than 10 years before having a child, that may seem like a long time…
In normal life, that’s true. Even if there is no rule, often it happens after two or three years of relationship. It’s unique to each couple. We know what being a top athlete entails: you can’t jump in on a whim and put your career on hold. It’s not possible too young either: at 22 or 23, you have to prove yourself, gain experience… My husband is patient, he knew where he was going. (she smiles) !

“Childbirth? I went 30 hours without sleep. I had a birth plan that could not be followed. I totally broke down, I was just crying. Two to three days after giving birth, I had a kind of baby blues because I couldn’t sleep and I had to breastfeed. It was the little hollow and then, we leave. Saying these things is essential. »

How was your pregnancy?
I can’t complain because I didn’t have too many problems unlike “Björki” for example, but in the end it was long. Childbirth is the worst feeling in my life. When I had contractions, I said to myself: “Come on Amel, you did interval training, you climbed passes…” But it was really very hard to hold on with the lack of sleep. I went 30 hours without sleep. I had a birth plan that could not be followed. I totally broke down, I was just crying. Two to three days after giving birth, I had a kind of baby blues because I couldn’t sleep and I had to breastfeed. It was the little hollow and then, we leave. Saying these things is essential. Ok, your baby is born, she is there in good health, everything is beautiful, everything is rosy, but there is the other side of the coin: it’s not obvious or easy. Fortunately, I was supported by my family, my friends and the midwives. They were great and are essential.

Amel Majri’s profile

Were you able to continue practicing the sport?
The day before I gave birth, I was still playing a tennis match! The day before, I had lost and I wanted to take my revenge. Maybe that’s what triggered the birth. At the club, I still did two training sessions a week, obviously without contact. The more I advanced in the pregnancy, the more I decreased the intensity but I kept a rhythm. I needed an activity because I was bored and I was told that nothing was against it.

In addition to your husband, you were also able to count on the support of your sister, Rachida…
She was a great support, she took good care of Maryam. When you give birth, you get a lot of hospital visits. Often, it’s the afternoon, we’re awake and the little one is sleeping during those times. So I couldn’t recover. My sister would come, stay with me and take care of it while I caught up on sleep. She was a big help. Sometimes poor thing, I yelled at her…”

HIS BODY AND HIS WOUND
“I want to be a footballer again”

“How did you find your body?
(She searches for her words) It is as if I had put the power back on and the machine had restarted. I remember when I redid butt heels, I felt like I was doing it for the first time. In fact, I rediscovered my body. No more running with a big belly, feeling the sensations at the level of the cesarean section scar. Sometimes it pulls, it’s weird. Gradually, I felt that I was progressing during the sessions with the physiotherapist or the physical trainer, I was building up my muscles, I was gaining confidence. And I found the rhythm thanks to the number of sessions which gradually increased.

Amel Majri reunited with the Rhone group in December (photo Sandra RUHAUT / ICON SPORT).

Your last match dates back almost to October 1, 2021 in Bordeaux in D1 Arkema…
That is true ! I remember it like it was yesterday, I had a good game with a goal thanks to a combination with Catarina (Macario) and a decisive pass (she smiles) ! I hurt myself in the 60th minute. It’s not a contact but a little nudge with Vanessa (Gilles). She touches me lightly, it unbalances me and I fall. I leave the field, I crack because I am disgusted. At first, I was on the ground in shock, I had heard cracking but I wanted to convince myself that it was not serious. I did three heels-buttocks, I saw that my leg was not holding and I understood that it was serious. I said to myself: “Come on, Amel, it’s not in your head, sit down”. More than a year is too long, I can’t take it anymore! I can’t wait… There was the injury, the pregnancy, the birth… I want to leave everything behind me and become a footballer again, but with Maryam (she smiles). There is something positive in my injury. »