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Serena Williams has opened up about her life-threatening complications after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. Serena Williams wrote an article detailing her traumatic near-death experience in an effort to raise awareness about stillbirth rates among African-American women in the United States and women in poorer countries with limited access to healthcare.
Serena gave birth to her daughter Olympia via emergency C-section after her heart rate dropped to worrying levels during contractions. Her health decline began with a pulmonary embolism followed by a string of health complications.
She said to CNN: “I nearly died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia. Still, I count myself lucky. This set off a series of health complications that I’m lucky to have survived. First my C-section injury healed snapped open due to the intense cough I endured from the embolism.
I returned to the operating room, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room surgery for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs.
When I finally returned home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of maternity bedridden. I am so grateful to have had access to such an incredible medical team of doctors and nurses in a state-of-the-art hospital.
They knew exactly how to handle this complicated turn of events. If it wasn’t for their professional assistance, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Serena Williams hopes for a better future for African American women
Serena highlighted the stark contrast between her own experience and the reality faced by African American women in the United States and women in resource-poor countries who do not have access to the same level of health care that she did.
She explained, “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women in the United States are three times more likely to die from pregnancy- or childbirth-related causes. But this is not just a challenge in the United States.
the world, thousands of women struggle to give birth in the poorest countries. Before they even bring a new life into this world, the cards are already stacked against them. That world is possible. And we must dare to dream it for every Black woman, for every woman in Malawi and for every mother out there. Together, we can make this change. Together, we can be the change.”
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