Serena Williams Needed Emergency C-Section, Details Health Problems After Giving Birth
Serena Williams revealed that her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr, who was born on September 1, 2017, was born by emergency C-section when her heart rate went too low during her contractions.
The 36-year-old tennis star’s delivery went smoothly and hubby Alexis Ohanian cut the umbilical cord.
“That was an amazing feeling,” Serena told Vogue in her cover story. “And then everything went bad.”
The next day, Serena felt short of breath and went to get a nurse. She told the publication she has a history of blood clots, and told hospital staff she needed a “CT scan with contrast and IV heparin (a blood thinner) right away.”
An ultrasound, which the doctors insisted on performing first, found nothing, but later, it was revealed she had “several small blood clots” in her lungs.
But the drama was not over. Vogue reported things went downhill from there: “Her fresh C-section wound popped open from the intense coughing spells caused by the pulmonary embolism, and when she returned to surgery, they found that a large hematoma had flooded her abdomen, the result of a medical catch-22 in which the potentially lifesaving blood thinner caused hemorrhaging at the site of her C-section. She returned yet again to the OR to have a filter inserted into a major vein, in order to prevent more clots from dislodging and traveling into her lungs.”
Finally, Serena was allowed home, but spent six weeks in bed.
Be sure to see the entire Vogue feature, with adorable photos of Alexis Jr!
Posted To:Alexis Ohanian Jr Serena Williams
