Serena said she felt short of breath and guessed that she was having a pulmonary embolism.
When Serena Williams publicly announced the birth of her daughter, Alexis Olympia, she implied that the labor experience was a little difficult.
“So we’re leaving the hospital after six, seven days,” Serena said in a YouTube video that she and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, made after the baby's birth. “It’s been a long time, but we had a lot of complications, but look who we got—we got a baby girl!” And in Vogue's latest issue, she opened up about the difficulties she faced while giving birth to Alexis Olympia (who Serena calls Olympia), and the scary complications she encountered afterward.
Serena said that she had an easy pregnancy but had to have an emergency C-section when Olympia’s heart rate dropped during contractions. The day after she delivered, Serena said she felt short of breath and guessed that she was having a pulmonary embolism, a potentially life-threatening condition when one or more arteries in the lungs are blocked by a blood clot. (She has a history of blood clots.) Her doctor ordered a CT scan and found several clots in her lungs. “I was like, listen to Dr. Williams!” she recalled jokingly telling her doctors.
It didn’t end there: Her C-section wound opened and doctors discovered that she had a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood in the tissues in her abdomen. She had to have several surgeries and wasn’t able to get out of bed for six weeks after she was released from the hospital.
“I was so happy to change diapers, but on top of everything she was going through, the feeling of not being able to help made it even harder,” Alexis told Vogue.
Luckily, Serena has gotten better but she says motherhood has been tough. “Sometimes I get really down and feel like, ‘Man, I can’t do this,’” she said. “It’s that same negative attitude I have on the court sometimes. I guess that’s just who I am. No one talks about the low moments—the pressure you feel, the incredible letdown every time you hear the baby cry. I’ve broken down I don’t know how many times. Or I’ll get angry about the crying, then sad about being angry, and then guilty, like, ‘Why do I feel so sad when I have a beautiful baby?’ The emotions are insane.”
Serena noted she had to pull out of the Australian Open due to her medical issues but she’s excited to get back to playing professionally. “There hasn’t been a clear No. 1 since I was there,” she pointed out. “It will be cool to see if I get there again, to what I call my spot—where I feel I belong."
As for baby Olympia, Serena joked that “we’re not spending a day apart until she’s 18.”
Serena said she felt short of breath and guessed that she was having a pulmonary embolism. Read Full Story
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