Serena Williams is feeling good about her postpartum body six months after giving birth to baby No. 2, and she wants to inspire other mothers to feel the same way.
The four-time Olympic gold medal winner, 42, shared a photo of herself in a bikini while holding her daughter Adira, who was born in August 2023, via Instagram on Tuesday, February 13.
“Loving yourself is essential. I find that I have to remind myself of that self-love through all different stages in my life. Right now I love that my body is not picture perfect,” Williams wrote.
“I love that I smell like milk – that milk sustains @adiraohanian I love getting to know a new version of my body,” her post continued. “It is a change, but it’s a change that has been well worth it. So start this week, knowing that you are loved, and that starts with you.” (Williams also shares her oldest daughter, Olympia, 6, with her husband, Alexis Ohanian.)
Earlier this month, Williams talked about her postpartum body when she shared a video of herself struggling to fit into a floor-length designer denim piece.
“I got this cool Valentino skirt when I was pregnant, and I was like, ‘I’m going to be able to fit this when I don’t have a belly,’” Williams explained as she put her legs in the design. When she attempted to pull the skirt up, Williams realized, “I can’t fit it.”
Despite her frustration, Williams was not discouraged.
“This is my goal,” Williams told the camera, explaining that she “should have been able to fit it by now, but I got distracted for about a month..” She continued, “I’m about a month behind. … We’ve got a ways to go. Houston, we’ve got a problem. Palm Beach, we’ve got a problem.”
Williams gave the skirt one more try before bursting into laughter after it stopped just below her bum. “I feel like if I go to the gym and get fit, I’ll be able to fit it in, like, a month,” she said. “Back to the drawer … for now.”
In December, Williams donated her “super soldier” breast milk during the holiday season.
“I’m really excited to donate some breast milk that I have left over from my trip in New York to people who really need it,” the retired tennis icon said in a video shared via Instagram as the camera showed the inside of a fridge stocked with milk. “It’ll be anonymous, but super excited to just help in some way.”
Williams explained in her caption that “after going through a screening,” she “was able to donate it instead of taking the milk home.”
“I know so many amazing women that adopt or are unable to make milk,” she continued. “It felt amazing. BTW Someone out there is getting some super soldier milk.”
