Tennis champion Serena Williams revealed she "almost died after giving birth" to her first child, daughter Olympia, last fall, according to a column by Williams on CNN.com.
Williams had a relatively easy birth Sept. 1, 2017, delivering her daughter by C-section, but two hours later, she was in a fight for her life that lasted six days, she wrote.
"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," Williams said.
She underwent three surgeries to deal with the health crisis and credited her medical team for her survival.
"When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed," she wrote on CNN.com.
“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.”
Williams knew about her health condition and was able to alert medical staffers that something was wrong.
[ >> Related: That is Graves’ disease? Wendy Williams opens up about her condition ]
Unfortunately, many women don't know their health risks. According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, African-American women are three times more likely than others to die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth.
This browser does not support the video element.