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The Wales centurion – now 36 – had her first child in 2014 and has spoken honestly about the struggles she had when returning to the game she loved. Ward’s return to play path wasn’t as smooth at Beynon’s has proved so far, but she was able to provide useful advice to the Swans midfielder.
“I asked Helen Ward because I knew she’d been through it,” said Beynon.
“I confided in her, just about things like when to stop playing and when to start. She told me what she did so I went with that advice and then I listened to how I was feeling as well.
“I played with her in the Welsh squad and she’s one of the only people I know who I could speak to who has been through this.
“Luckily for me, I knew I could message her. She messaged me back straight away and she was really good.
“Helen was an inspiration. She was really good with me, telling me things I needed to know and who to speak to.
“And knowing someone was able to get back to the same level they were playing at before – that was a big thing.
“I always wanted to come back to football. I said throughout the pregnancy that it was always my intention to come back.
“It was obviously a hard few weeks just after Theo was born, but I was ready to be back involved and back training. I just felt ready for it.
“I don’t think I pushed myself, it was a gradual feeling of being ready to return.”
While on the sidelines, Beynon was Swans Ladies’ biggest supporter, turning up to training and matches just to support and stay involved.
“Obviously, I had to take a step back but because Theo was planned I was prepared for that,” she added.
“I played up until I was 12 weeks and trained a bit afterwards and then slowly stopped to focus on the pregnancy.
“I still came to all the training sessions and to games because I missed the girls.
“Just standing on the side, it felt like I was still involved in the team which was good.”
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