Netball star Gretel Bueta has shared her pregnancy joy after suffering a miscarriage

After the grief of suffering a miscarriage late last year, Queensland netball star Gretel Bueta is overjoyed to be expecting another child.

Queensland netball star Gretel Bueta has been gifted another chance at motherhood after suffering the devastation of a miscarriage.

The Gold Coast-born Firebird was set to return to training on December 2, the morning after she was honoured at the Australian Netball Awards in Brisbane, when she discovered she was expecting another child.

She had surrounded herself with family – husband Niko Bueta and son Bobby, 2 – in the months prior to cope with the loss of her previous pregnancy, having miscarried in her first trimester.

She was taking space to reassess her netball plans for 2023.

Having now reached the second trimester of her pregnancy, she will sit out the season for the Firebirds, as originally planned, to welcome her second child later this year.

“Going through a miscarriage is not nice at all, but we are just so grateful we have fallen pretty quickly,” Bueta, 29, told The Sunday Mail.

“It never gets easy when you go to the scans, you have a bit of nervous energy and my heart goes out to women who experience fertility issues because it’s awful, but the support that I felt during that time was huge.

“You’re just grateful for every day growing a baby and you cherish it, and I squeeze Bobby a little bit tighter during it all.

“To be able to make it through the first trimester has been incredible and we’re very excited for Bobby to have a little mate.”

Reflecting an issue unique to female athletes, Bueta had announced her previous pregnancy early in October to explain her absence from the Diamonds squad during the Constellation Cup series, as well as the 2023 Super Netball season.

She tragically experienced a miscarriage shortly after, and subsequently had to share the news publicly.

It was uncharted territory for the netball fraternity, and Bueta said she was overwhelmed at the blanket of support thrown around her as Netball Queensland and Netball Australia allowed her space to decide on her future.

“They gave me time, I think, afterwards, to just process and be with my family,” she said of the difficult decision to try for another pregnancy.

“Family means everything to us and that time allowed me to reassess everything.

“I absolutely love the game of netball but I love being a mother and I’ve always wanted to have a big family, so I think we just longed to try again and the day I went to get back into training I took a test and I was pregnant.”

Bueta had been honoured at the annual award ceremony the night before, named in the Suncorp Super Netball team of the year for her extraordinary efforts in her return season after welcoming Bobby in early 2021.

She has been a pioneer for female athletes combining motherhood and elite sport and is heartened that her experience will continue to pave a pathway for women in the sport.

“I had so many open conversations with Netball Queensland along the way and their support has just been amazing,” she said.

“It shows that netball is definitely leading the way in this space for women.”

Bueta was buoyed to see tennis stars Ash Barty and Naomi Osaka announce their pregnancies.

“I think that’s really exciting for young girls coming through to know that if they want to be a mother and choose to be a professional athlete, the support is there for them,” she said.

Gretel Bueta, pictured with son Bobby, 2, is pregnant again. Picture: Luke Marsden