Naomi Osaka, 26, doesn’t plan on having “many more” kids because she had a traumatizing experience giving birth to her daughter.
The tennis player posted a video on her TikTok account on Sunday, responding to a comment questioning whether she was pregnant and wishing her many more kids.
“I just wanna say, I’m not preggos, but if I was, I wouldn’t want many more because giving birth was traumatic. But thank you, though, for your blessings,” Osaka said in her video, which has been viewed almost 60,000 times.
@naomiosaka Replying to @Lundazi ♬ original sound – Naomi Osaka 大坂なおみ
Osaka welcomed her first child — a daughter named Shai — in July 2023 with her partner, rapper Cordae.
She has previously spoken about her complicated pregnancy and labor experience.
In a December interview with InStyle, Osaka revealed that she had tested positive for Group B streptococcus — a bacteria that can cause stillbirths, or newborns to have sepsis or meningitis — while pregnant. She shared that she even wrote a will before going into labor.
“I don’t think people know how hard pregnancy is; no one really talks about it as much,” Osaka told InStyle. “Going into it, you kind of think: Oh, it’s this beautiful journey. But it’s kind of rough.”
She also told the outlet that her labor experience took over 12 hours, and the umbilical cord was wrapped around her baby’s neck.
“I do remember feeling in that moment, this is the worst pain of my life,” Osaka said, recalling when the doctors told her to push. “And I know that if I get through this, then everything else will feel very easy.”
In January, she told Glamour that she had experienced scary changes in her body after giving birth to her daughter.
“Having a baby completely destroys your pelvic floor,” Osaka told Glamour. “I was shocked, because I couldn’t get up out of my bed. I had to roll sideways, and it was a really long process because, for me, my immediate way of thinking is: To rebuild this I have to do a lot of sit-ups. And I learned that that’s totally not what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to do deep pelvic-floor work.”
She added that she started training 15 days after giving birth, and was glad she had a “great team” around her who could advise her on her recovery — but acknowledged that it was a privilege that not many new mothers have access to.
According to the CDC, about 700 women in the US die annually due to pregnancy or its complications. Black and Indigenous women are also two to three times more likely to die than their white peers.
In comparison, there were slightly under 3.6 million births in the US in 2023.
Lenorre Clarke, an OB/GYN with Riverside University Health System in California, previously told Business Insider that it’s important for women to advocate for themselves regarding their health.
“Find a physician who you can establish a good doctor-patient relationship with, get early and regular prenatal care, and never be afraid to speak up for yourself,” Clarke said. “It is imperative to ask questions and ensure that your care plan is clear to you.”
A representative for Osaka did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
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