‘Listen to Dr Williams!’ Serena told medics
Tennis champion reveals how she took control of postnatal care following terrifying complications
SERENA WILLIAMS has told how she had multiple operations and was confined to bed for six weeks following the birth of her daughter.
The tennis champion gave birth to Alexis Olympia Ohanian on Sept 1 by emergency caesarean section, but a series of complications required surgery for blood clots in her lungs.
Williams, 36, who appears on the cover of US Vogue magazine with her baby, said she had lost count of the number of times she had broken down in tears since becoming a mother, and that the emotions were “insane”.
She had the emergency operation when her heart rate began dropping during contractions. She said the first moments of motherhood were “amazing” but then “everything went bad.” The day after giving birth she believed she was suffering a pulmonary embolism – a blood clot in the lung – something she experienced six years ago.
Struggling for breath, she got out of bed and alerted a nurse, saying she needed a CAT scan and heparin, a type of blood thinner, “right away”. She was given a Doppler ultrasound scan.
Williams said she recalled telling the medical team: “I was like, a Doppler? I told you, I need a CT scan and a heparin.” A CAT scan showed several small blood clots in her lungs, and she was placed on a heparin drip.
“I was like, listen to Dr Williams!” the player added.
In the days that followed, her scar split due to coughing brought on by the pulmonary embolism. She also had to have surgery to insert a filter into a vein to prevent further clots. She then spent six weeks convalescing in bed after returning home. Williams is married to Alexis Ohanian, 34, cofounder of the website Reddit. Mr Ohanian said: “I was 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.”
Williams said: “Sometimes I get really down and feel like, man, I can’t do this.
“It’s that same negative attitude I have on the court sometimes. I guess that’s just who I am. 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.”
Last week Williams withdrew from the Australian Open, the first grand slam event on the tennis calendar, but she still wants to break Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles.
She is currently on 23 and said having had a daughter, whom she calls by her middle name Olympia, may help in her quest.
“When I’m too anxious I lose matches,” she told US Vogue, “and I feel like a lot of that anxiety disappeared when Olympia was born.”