Serena Williams opens up about her near-death experience during daughter Olympia’s birth

us.hola.com:

Serena Williams is letting fans in on her traumatic childbirth experience. In a personal essay for Elle, the tennis legend opened up about her experience with giving birth to her daughter, Olympia.

Williams also reveals that she didnt’t have a “connection” with the 4-year-old, who she shares with husband Alexis Ohanian, throughout her pregnancy.“I was nervous about meeting my baby,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion admits in her essay. “Throughout my pregnancy, I’d never felt a connection with her. While I loved being pregnant, I didn’t have that amazing ‘Oh my God, this is my baby‘ moment, ever.

It’s something people don’t usually talk about, because we’re supposed to be in love from the first second.”A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)She went on to say that she wasn’t “gushing” over her daughter, waiting to feel like she knew her over that entire 9 month period--but that feeling didn’t come until she gave birth to Olympia in September 2017.“When I finally saw her—and I just knew it was going to be a girl, that was one thing I knew about her before we even had it confirmed—I loved her right away,” she continued. “It wasn’t exactly instantaneous, but it was there, and from that seed, it grew.

I couldn’t stop staring at her, my Olympia.”Unfortunately, once Serena finally able to hold her child, things took a turn for the worse.After being rushed into an emergency C-section when the baby’s heart rate kept dropping, Williams also had to demand additional medical attention after her stitches were reopened due to an uncontrollable cough after she gave birth.Serena Williams and daughter Olympia look pretty in pink in matching Balmain dressesThat time Serena Williams challenged strangers at a random tennis.