Hayden Panettiere opens up about suffering from postnatal depression

Hayden Panettiere has opened up about suffering from postnatal depression.

In a recent interview with Live! With Kelly and Michael, she explained: "I suffered a bout of postpartum depression. You're not alone or crazy, ladies!"

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The* Nashville* actress gave birth to her first child, daughter Kaya, in December 2014.

Speaking on the chat show, she said postnatal depression is a subject that needs to be more widely discussed.

“It’s something a lot of women experience. When [you’re told] about postpartum depression you think it’s, ‘I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or hurt my child’ - I’ve never, ever had those feelings. Some women do.”

She went on: "But you don’t realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience… It’s something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they’re not alone, and that it does heal."

Hayden assured women going through the illness that it does heal, and that they shouldn’t feel alone in their experience.

"There’s a lot of misunderstanding - there’s a lot of people out there that think that it’s not real, that it’s not true, that it’s something that’s made up in their minds, that ‘Oh, it’s hormones.’ They brush it off."

According to the NHS, postnatal depression affects as many as one in 10 women after they give birth and has a wide range of symptoms.

Hayden continued: “It’s something that’s completely uncontrollable. It’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support.

"Women are amazing. We do something that no man can do on this planet. I mean, we grow a human being in our body!”

Well said Hayden! Although, we do believe the man plays some role in the reproduction process…

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