'I wanted to prove you can do anything after pregnancy'

A jiu-jitsu champion said she was determined to prove people who said she could not return to the sport after becoming a mother wrong.

Bea Fernandes runs Roots Gym at Murrayside Youth and Community Centre in Nacton, Suffolk, alongside her partner Ben Wyard.

Fernandes, who is a former European Jiu-Jitsu champion, gave birth to their first child in September 2024, but said she faced tough comments from people telling her it would not be easy to get back into competitions.

However, just four months after welcoming their daughter, she was back competing and is now balancing motherhood with managing the gym.

The NHS advised mothers who had natural births to wait until they have had the six-week checkup before starting high-impact exercise. For more complicated deliveries and caesareans, recoveries can be longer, and mums should talk to a health visitor or GP first.

"I had a hard time with the pregnancy and some complications," Fernandes, who moved from Portugal to Suffolk more than 10 years ago, explained.

"I had an emergency C-section, but I was so focused on competing.

"When I was pregnant, I thought, I need to come back as soon as possible, and people would say, 'No, it's not going to be like that, you're not going to be back that easily'.

"It was bringing me down, so I needed to [prove] them wrong. Four months after giving birth, I was already competing at the Europeans."

Fernandes is now close to competing in the same division she was in prior to her pregnancy.

She added: "I think if you want to do something, there's nothing stopping you from doing it."

Fernandes said after welcoming her baby, things "just fell into place" to enable her and Wyard to open their gym that also offers mixed martial arts (MMA), boxing and karate.

Despite her decorated career in the sport that has seen her win numerous medals and crowned as the inaugural Southern Quarter Super Series Champion for the under 70KG category, Fernandes admitted coaching is not something that initially came naturally to her.

"I've never really focused on my teaching before; I've only focused on my competition," she admitted.

"I've really been trying to work on my speech, and it's helped my English a lot. I know it sounds silly, but I've been practising whilst pitch side."

Wyard, who is also a European champion, said he knew "there would be no holding" Fernandes back after her pregnancy.

He said she was "flying" and was a positive role model for their athletes.

Like his partner, Wyard had never previously considered a career in coaching.

"I never really thought I would go into coaching; it just fell into my lap," he said.

"It's something we took on, and like we do with everything we take on. We do it properly, and we go full steam ahead."

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