From sporting prowess to style – Serena Williams is constantly serving up all of the inspo. And since the birth of her first child, Alexis, the tennis superstar is also offering us plenty of relatable and refreshing takes on motherhood.
In a recent chat with The Thirty Birdie, the 36-year-old opened up about the pressure for new mums to “bounce back” after giving birth.
“I feel like the quote, unquote “snapback” is so overrated,” she said. “I’m still snapping back. I was playing in Wimbledon, and I totally have a stomach. You know? It’s no secret. It is what it is. And I’m proud of my tummy. It pokes out a lot more than it used to, but I’m still coming back from having a baby.”
She says that the expectation for women to return to their “pre-baby bodies” is unhealthy and unrealistic.
“I just feel like this whole story about having a baby and then coming back two days after and looking better than before is not teaching the right way or the natural way or the believable way,” she said. “Like maybe that happened to one person, but let me tell you, that didn’t happen to me. So that really frustrates me. I just want to straighten that record that it takes time, and it’s okay. I’m playing in Grand Slams with a tummy, and I’m okay. It’s just how my body is. My intestines are still trying to get back in place. That’s my whole attitude. It’s normal to be a woman and not come back in a week.”
Serena previously wrote for CNN about her harrowing first months of motherhood after undergoing an emergency cesarean and nearly dying from a pulmonary embolism post-delivery.
“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. I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. 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.”
She’s also been honest about how she’s coped mentally, as well as physically.
“No one talks about the low moments,” she told Vogue. “(The) incredible letdown every time you hear the baby cry … 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.”
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