“I was shocked, because I couldn’t get up out of my bed,” said the tennis champ.
Naomi Osaka is embracing her new role as a mom and how her life, and body have changed since.
On Wednesday (Jan. 10), the four-time Grand Slam singles champion opened up to Glamour on her motherhood journey and the physical transformation she endured while pregnant.
After welcoming her infant daughter, Shai, in July 2023 with rapper Cordae, the athlete said she experienced alarming changes in her health.
Naomi Osaka Gets Candid About Her Motherhood Journey
“Having a baby completely destroys your pelvic floor,” Osaka explained. “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.
“I did have a really great team around me that gave me a lot of information,” she said while adding, “I feel like that’s something that not a lot of people have access to.”
Still, embarking on her pregnancy journey served a risk that made her anxious about her future.
“I was extremely nervous,” Osaka revealed. “I felt like I was stepping into the unknown, and I also felt like the last few years of my career were kind of sporadic too. So I didn’t even know if my sponsors wanted to take up the energy to go through this with me. But I’m really happy that I chose people around me that understand me and we’re going through this adventure together. I guess the biggest elephant in the room is Nike, but they’ve been so extremely helpful.”
Since welcoming baby Shai, the new first-time mom has found her voice while “not caring about people’s opinions.”
“Moms are expected to do everything and to know everything. But I’ve learned that I can put my foot down a lot more now, and I’ve also learned why a lot of moms are very loud and they have strong characters,” she told the publication.