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The real reason Serena Williams stopped breastfeeding

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Prior to, and since becoming a mother, tennis champ Serena Williams has made no bones about her plan to not only be a great mom but also to remain top of her game. 

And although the first-time mom hasn't gotten back to the top spot she's used to occupying (currently seeded no. 26 in the WTA rankings), her time as champ is far from over, a point she vocalised in a recent interview with Time Magazine, with her first-ever Time cover. 

“I’m not done yet, simple,” she told the magazine. 

The determined star shares her struggle to balance life as a parent with life as an athlete, revealing that it was her coach who first mentioned giving up breastfeeding for the sake of her game. 

“It’s absolutely hard to take from a guy. He’s not a woman, he doesn’t understand that connection, that the best time of the day for me was when I tried to feed her. I’ve spent my whole life making everyone happy, just servicing it seems like everyone. And this is something I wanted to do.” 



What was most difficult for you returning to work after giving birth? What do you do to balance work, life parenting? Tell us by emailing to chatback@parent24.com and we could publish your letter. Do let us know if you'd like to stay anonymous.  


Despite struggling with the decision, she eventually had a serious talk with her baby when she was 6 months old. 

“I looked at Olympia, and I was like, ‘Listen, Mommy needs to get her body back, so Mommy’s going to stop now.’ We had a really good conversation. We talked it out.”

With a new clothing line in the works coupled with a gruelling training schedule for the upcoming US Open, Serena says she finally understands why women are constantly putting themselves last. 

“I still have to learn a balance of being there for her, and being there for me. I’m working on it. I never understood women before, when they put themselves in second or third place. And it’s so easy to do. It’s so easy to do.”

Good to know that even champions find parenting difficult. 

What was most difficult for you returning to work after giving birth? What do you do to balance work, life and parenting? Tell us by emailing to chatback@parent24.com and we could publish your letter. Do let us know if you'd like to stay anonymous.  

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