“My Heart’s Shattered Silence” Joy Turns to Sorrow ” Happened few minutes ago’ Serena Williams lose consciousness after Losing her Baby

I almost died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia.

Yet I consider myself fortunate.

While I had a pretty easy pregnancy, my daughter was born by emergency C-section after her heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions. The surgery went smoothly. Before I knew it, Olympia was in my arms. It was the most amazing feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life. But what followed just 24 hours after giving birth were six days of uncertainty.

It began with a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot. Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn’t wait a second to alert the nurses.

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.

I am so grateful I had access to such an incredible medical team of doctors and nurses at a hospital with state-of-the-art equipment. They knew exactly how to handle this complicated turn of events. If it weren’t for their professional care, I wouldn’t be here today.

Serena Williams is still hard at work on getting back to her pre-baby body, nearly a year after she welcomed her second child.

Sitting down with ET’s Rachel Smith to discuss her new docuseries, In the Arena: Serena Williams, the 42-year-old tennis pro opened up about her health goals, her daughters and what it was like looking back on her career as a now-retired player.