Naomi Osaka is opening up about how motherhood is preparing her to make her first return to the Australian Open — a tournament she has won twice. The four-time grand slam champion initially revealed her pregnancy during the 2022 Australian Open.
In July 2023, Osaka gave birth to her beautiful daughter, Shai, with rapper Cordae.
In a new ad campaign for the baby formula brand @Bobbie, Osaka is pushing for paid family and medical leave in the United States.
“Being a parent is hard. As a professional athlete I am no stranger to hard work or early mornings, but the last 6 months as a new mom has given me a whole new appreciation and understanding of what parents do every single day.
Parents, moms in particular, are historically told that babies will be a barrier to personal goals – that they will stop you from achieving your dreams. But I have discovered that Shai is my ultimate motivator; she makes me want to achieve greatness. I’m proud of myself for continuing to chase my dreams while also being a mom. And I recognize that I’m fortunate to have the support to return to work this month on my own terms, in my own time. So many American parents don’t have that choice. But we ALL deserve it.
I’m using my platform and my voice to join @Bobbie, the company supporting my feeding journey with Shai, to speak up about the lack of federal paid leave and advocate for new moms in this country. 84% of Americans support paid leave, and yet 73% of parents don’t have it.
If passed, the Family and Medical Leave Act would give 12 weeks paid leave, job protection, and guarantee a minimum monthly benefit of $580. So, while we fight to pass it this year, Bobbie and I are giving $580 to 50 families, called the N.O. Support Grants. It’s not a solution, but it’s a start. I hope you will join me in getting loud about this issue on behalf of all new parents in America.”
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