Olympian Allyson Felix Gets Candid About The Traumatic Birth Of Her Daughter

Olympian Allyson Felix's net worth might surprise you, though it does demonstrate just how immensely successful she's been in her chosen career. Celebrity Net Worth puts Felix at a whopping $4.5 million earned to date, pointing out she's won more Olympic track and field medals than any other female athlete. Despite how demonstrably well Felix has done thus far, she was hesitant when it came to achieving her lifelong goal of being a parent.

The celebrated runner gushed to ESPN, "I was so excited to be pregnant. I've always wanted to be a mother. I feel so incredibly blessed. This shouldn't be a secret. I want to share this journey with everyone who has ever known me or cheered for me." Felix held back on revealing her exciting news for eight months due to overwhelming concerns over how everyone would react to learning she'd apparently put pregnancy before competing.

As the beloved Olympian acknowledged, "Having a child felt like I'd be risking my career and disappointing everyone who expected me to always put running first." As People notes, just 10 months after her daughter's birth, Felix bested a record held by Usain Bolt, confirming she had no reason to worry about bouncing back. It was especially fortunate considering her birthing experience was pretty traumatic.

Athletes are among the healthiest and fittest people on the planet. But, when it comes to pregnancy, there are just as many variables to contend with. Olympian Allyson Felix who, alongside husband Kenneth Ferguson, welcomed a daughter in 2018 (via People), opened up to HuffPost about how shocking it was to learn she was just as susceptible to developing a life-threatening condition — in this case, preeclampsia, which is related to high blood pressure — as everybody else. "Being a professional athlete, honestly, I took my health for granted," she admitted. "In my mind, I wanted to have this beautiful natural birth."

The Olympian was forced to have an emergency C-section, delivering her premature baby at just 32 weeks. Thankfully, Ferguson was by her side the entire time. As Felix recalled, "Things were going downhill. The doctor came in, and we had to start making some decisions about what we were going to do. [Kenneth] was really the one who had to advocate. I wasn't having a capacity to do those things." 

Their daughter Camryn spent the first few weeks of her life in the NICU, which was understandably terrifying for her parents. Thus, Felix told Insider emphatically, "All Black women, all women of color are at risk. It doesn't matter how great of medical care that you have, or being a professional athlete. I never would've imagined that this would be my situation. And I think that that's what a lot of people think."