The tennis athlete claims that she felt like she was not a good mom as she was dealing with postpartum depression.
- Aug 7, 2018
AceShowbiz - Serena Williams decided to share her feelings on social media after she felt like she's not doing enough for her baby. The 36-year-old tennis player took to her Instagram account to post an inspiring message about her experience in facing problems in motherhood and Postpartum Depression. The message was posted along with a silhouette picture of her standing on a beach.
"Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk," Serena wrote in the beginning of the caption. "Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom." The Grand Slam champion then went on to explain, "I read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best."
Serena claimed that her family and friends helped her during her struggle, "Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal." She continued, "It's totally normal to feel like I'm not doing enough for my baby."
"We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I'm trying to be the best athlete I can be," she added. "However, that means although I have been with her every day of her life, I'm not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you moms deal with the same thing," Serena said before praising fellow moms, "Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes."
In the end of the message, Serena cheered up her followers and fellow moms, "I'm here to say: if you are having a rough day or week, it's ok, I am, too!!! There's always tomm!"
Serena, who shares daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. with husband Alexis Ohanian, previously opened up about her near-death experience after giving birth to her daughter. "I almost died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia. Yet I consider myself fortunate," she said. "It began with a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot."
"Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn't wait a second to alert the nurses," Serena recalled. "This sparked a slew of health complications that I am lucky to have survived. First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism."
The tennis superstar then explained how doctors fixed her health issue, "I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen." She continued, "And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs. When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed."
