Track and field star Allyson Felix had no reason to believe that her pregnancy wouldnt proceed smoothly. Not only was she healthy, but, as one of the fastest people on the planet, her body was in incredible physical shape.

So it came as a shock when, at 32 weeks pregnant, she was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, a condition characterized by high blood pressure in pregnancy that is a leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide. In the U.S., Black pregnant people are five times more likely to die from preeclampsia than white pregnant people.

Being a professional athlete, honestly, I took my health for granted, Felix told HuffPost in an interview promoting her new partnership with Clorox. In my mind, I wanted to have this beautiful natural birth.

To save her life and her daughters, Felix had to abandon her birth plan and deliver prematurely at 32 weeks via emergency C-section.

The experience taught her how vital it can be to have an advocate in your corner. For Felix, that person was her husband, Kenneth Ferguson.

Things were going downhill. The doctor came in, and we had to start making some decisions about what we were going to do, she said. [Kenneth] was really the one who had to advocate. I wasnt having a capacity to do those things.

Felix and Fergusons daughter, Camryn, spent the first weeks of her life in the NICU.

When we were in the NICU, and even when we had just come home, I wasnt sure if I was going to make it back [to track and field] Felix said.

Things that once were really simple, really easy for me were really challenging. I would say its probably a year and a half until I saw glimpses of who I was before. And then understanding that I dont have to be that exact same person like I am. And strong looks a lot of different ways, she added.

Felix found that she still had the same competitiveness, but, as a mother, her motivation had shifted.

I felt like people were telling me that I couldnt have both of these things. But it was that drive to show [Camryn] that no one can put limits on your life, and you can absolutely do everything that you want to do, she said.

Felix returned to competition eight months postpartum and went on to win gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, in 2019, surpassing Jamaican track legend Usain Bolts record number of world championship golds. She has also won 11 Olympic medals in five Olympic games.