Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian welcomed home their second daughter, Adira River. It is a joyous occasion for the family, which has now expanded by one. The couple took to social media to announce this wonderful news. Amidst this happiness, the new parents will surely have had moments of anxiety, given Serena’s difficult first birth.
Ohanian frankly spoke about his fears regarding Serena’s second pregnancy. In an exclusive interview with People in July, Alexis opened up about his hopes and fears.
The tech entrepreneur stated that he was very happy that they had baby number two on the way. But he was concerned about his wife’s health. His main focus was to ensure that Serena was safe at all times.
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During the birth of their first child, Olympia, Serena’s life was critically endangered due to complications. Alexis took every precaution possible for Serena this time. “We’re … obviously taking every precaution and doing everything we can to make sure everything goes smoothly for Serena,” said Ohanian.
However, Ohanian also shared that he has faith in their abilities to be good parents. They are not first-time parents and Ohanian is more confident this time.
Their first child, Olympia was born in 2017. Serena Williams was pregnant with her when she won the Australian Open that year. Since then, the mother-daughter duo have been inseparable. But Serena very nearly died to hold her in her arms.
Serena Williams shares her experience of giving birth to Olympia
The 23-time Grand Slam champion gave birth to Olympia via C-section. Shortly after her delivery, the tennis ace was faced with life-threatening complications.
The American tennis legend opened up about her traumatic experience during childbirth. Williams recalled this moment in the 2018 HBO documentary ‘Being Serena’, and separately in an interview too. “I almost died,” she said.
Williams ended up with a pulmonary embolism, a condition where arteries get blocked by blood clots. She revealed that there was another clot detected in her leg. The doctors had to insert a filter to keep more clots from forming in her arteries.
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Unfortunately, it was not the first time Serena had an embolism. Her first brush with pulmonary embolism came in 2011, six years before Olympia’s birth. Williams recalls how hard she had to fight to be heard. She did not want to end up as another statistic in the USA’s maternal mortality charts.
Serena went from undergoing a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism and followed it up with a Grand Slam final appearance. It was not easy in any way, as Serena was breastfeeding Olympia while suffering from post-partum depression.
But Serena was able to fight her way through as always. Williams retired from tennis in 2022, to expand her family, and she has done it successfully.
