Serena Williams doesn't think she's a "baby person".
Serena Williams
The 35-year-old professional tennis star is set to welcome her first child with fiancé Alexis Ohanian into the world next month, but has admitted she's not sure what she'll be like as a mother as prior to getting pregnant she didn't see herself as someone who would enjoy being around a young baby.
She said: "The biggest thing is that I don't really think I'm a baby person. Not yet. That's something I have to work on. I'm so used to me-me-me, taking care of my health, my body, my career. I always ask, 'Am I going to be good enough?'"
And the sporting superstar is "nervous" about the process of giving birth to her child, and has already decided she wants to have an epidural - in which doctors inject anaesthesia into the back to numb the area - when she goes into labour.
Speaking to Vogue magazine, Serena said: "I'm nervous about childbirth. I'm not a spring chicken. The one thing I really want is an epidural, which I know a lot of people are against, but I've had surgeries galore, and I don't need to experience any more pain if I can avoid it."
Meanwhile, Serena recently claimed she has "so much respect" for mothers, and despite her worries about her own abilities, she can't wait to become one herself.
She said: "I have so much respect for so many women [for giving birth]. I am about to be a real woman now, you know? It's going to be something incredibly impressive to go through."
And Serena refuses to watch videos on giving birth, as she thinks seeing other women go through the process will make it "worse" for her.
She added: "I don't think watching birthing videos helps. I actually think it makes it worse. Having a baby, nothing is guaranteed."
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