Serena Williams has revealed that she suffered with post-natal depression.
The professional tennis player admitted that she struggled after welcoming her first child, Alexis Olympia, with her Reddit co-founder husband Alexis Ohanian.
Last September, the 36-year-old “nearly died” after she was forced to undergo an emergency caesarean, and had to have surgery to prevent blood clots travelling to her lungs.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Serena said, “One minute, everything’s going according to plan, and then I’m being wheeled off for surgery. I was terrified, and it was a whole new kind of fear.”
Her husband, Alexis, explained, “The C-section was low on our wish list because of her history with blood clots. Any surgery that Serena has is potentially life-threatening. But we decided, ‘Well, OK, for the safety of mom, for the safety of the baby, we have to proceed with a C-section.”
Despite going through such a traumatic birthing experience, Serena is ready to have another child, but admitted that she’s gone through tough times to get where she is today.
“Honestly, sometimes I think I still have to deal with it,” she said. “I think people have to talk about it more because it’s almost like the fourth trimester, it’s part of the pregnancy.”
“I remember one day, I couldn’t find Olympia’s bottle and I got so upset I started crying … because I wanted to be perfect for her.”
She went on to explain, “For so many years, I defined myself in just one way: by success, by championships, by making history. And then, all of the sudden, my life changed forever.”
“It wasn’t part of any plan to have this happen, not while I was still on top. But two years ago, I met this man, almost out of nowhere. We fell in love, and then, this unthinkable surprise.”
“I can’t believe how much went wrong on my way to meeting her. I almost died. But now, she’s the reason why this all means even more than it did before.
“Still, there’s no escaping the fear. The fear that I might not come back as strong as I was. The fear that I can’t be both the best mother and the best tennis player in the world. I guess my only choice is to live and find out,” she added.
