For the roughly 20 percent of moms who experience postpartum depression, the condition can feel crippling and shameful, but hiding and refusing to talk about it almost always makes it worse. That’s why these celeb moms have opened up about their own experience with depression post-baby and are encouraging others to do the same.
Cardi B
Like a lot of new moms, Cardi B wasn’t sure what to expect after giving birth to daughter Kulture Kiari (whom, according to Harper’s Bazaar, she’s nicknamed “KK”). But in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she admitted she experienced postpartum depression, saying, “I thought I was going to avoid it…When I gave birth, the doctor told me about postpartum, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m doing good right now, I don’t think that’s going to happen.’ But out of nowhere, the world was heavy on my shoulders.”
She added that partly because of the depression, she made the choice not to breastfeed baby KK and dropped out of touring with Bruno Mars. However, she says she started feeling better a few months later, and that her mother has been a huge help to her.
We’re glad to hear that Cardi B is feeling better and applaud her decision to be open about her PPD!
Tess Holliday
The model and author has spoken out about struggling with postpartum depression following the birth of her youngest son, Bowie Juniper, who she welcomed in June 2016. In a post she shared in March 2018, she explained that she had “been very open with how hard it’s been. From dealing with extreme PPD, to at times feeling really isolated and overwhelmed. My boys are 10 years apart and that comes with its own set of problems, but I’ve found support through other women.” Later, in May, she shared a seemingly happy selfie, taken a year prior, admitting, “Up until about a month ago, everyday since this photo was taken I thought in my head: ‘I wish I could just vanish…’ I’ve never had suicidal thoughts, or self harm, but the thoughts of just wanting to stop hurting and feeling helpless were new & frankly overwhelming. I’ve been open about my struggles with Postpartum Depression, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized I had extreme PPD.”
She encouraged moms to “take time to care for YOU. Don’t let it get to the point mine did where you feel like you’re losing your mind. Don’t think because your child isn’t a ‘baby’ that you couldn’t still be suffering from PPD, because I’m here to tell you, you most definitely can. Ask for help, talk to someone, find a support group or hell, message me. You aren’t alone & you don’t need to suffer alone.”
Bryce Dallas Howard
The Black Mirror star, along with husband Seth Gabel, welcomed daughter Beatrice in 2012 and son Theodore in 2007. In an essay for GOOP, she illustrated one of her darkest moments battling PPD after the birth of Theo: “I distinctly remember the first night I was alone. It was less than a week after the birth, and I still refused to take even [OTC pain meds} for fear of how it might affect my milk. Theo woke up next to me, and I knew I needed to begin breastfeeding. Because of the stitches, moving even an inch sent daggers of pain tearing through my body. I tried to sit, but finally gave up and lay still as my tiny son cried. I thought, ‘I’m going to die here, lying next to my newborn son. I am literally going to die tonight.’”
She also noted, “Postpartum depression is hard to describe — the way the body and mind and spirit fracture and crumble in the wake of what most believe should be a celebratory time…It is strange for me to recall what I was like at that time. I seemed to be suffering emotional amnesia. I couldn’t genuinely cry, or laugh, or be moved by anything. For the sake of those around me, including my son, I pretended, but when I began showering again in the second week, I let loose in the privacy of the bathroom, water flowing over me as I heaved uncontrollable sobs.”
Thankfully, with the help of a physician, she was able to overcome PPD over the course of 18 months.
Serena Williams
Ever since welcoming her first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., back in September 2017, Serena Williams has been honest about the lightest and darkest moments throughout her experience. In an in-depth, heartbreakingly interview with Vogue, which hit stands in January 2018, the tennis champ explained how she almost died giving birth, after requiring an emergency caesarean and surgery for blood clots in her lungs.
In June 2018, Williams spoke out about coping with postpartum depression, telling Harper’s Bazaar UK: “Honestly, sometimes I think I still have to deal with it. I think people have to talk about it more, because it’s almost like the fourth trimester, it’s part of the pregnancy. I remember one day, I couldn’t find Olympia’s bottle and I got so upset I started crying…because I wanted to be perfect for her.”
Alanis Morissette
Singer Alanis Morissette opened up in a recent interview, revealing that PPD set in “seconds” after giving birth to both of her kids. “There are days I’m debilitated to the point where I can barely move. As a kid, I imagined having children and being with an amazing partner. This is a whole other wrench I didn’t anticipate,” Morissette told Peoplemagazine.
Chrissy Teigen
The mom of two and her husband John Legend welcomed daughter Luna in April 2016 and son Miles in May 2018. Around her little girl’s first birthday, the Sports Illustrated model and cookbook author penned a candid essay in Glamour about coping with postpartum depression, writing, “I had everything I needed to be happy. And yet, for much of the last year, I felt unhappy…Getting out of bed to get to [the set of Lip Sync Battle] on time was painful. My lower back throbbed; my shoulders — even my wrists — hurt. I didn’t have an appetite. I would go two days without a bite of food…There was a lot of spontaneous crying.”
When Luna was around eight months old, Teigen shared that she was diagnosed with postpartum depression and anxiety, explaining, “I remember being so exhausted but happy to know that we could finally get on the path of getting better…I’m speaking up now because I want people to know it can happen to anybody, and I don’t want people who have it to feel embarrassed or to feel alone.”
In February 2018, while expecting Miles, Teigen told Vogue: “Do I worry about it with this little boy? I do. But I also know that I feel like when it does happen, if it does, I’m so ready for it. I have the perfect people around me for it. That’s why I really stand for a good core group of people around you.”
Kendra Wilkinson
After the reality star welcomed her two kids Hank IV and Alijah with estranged husband Hank Baskett, she faced PPD. “I was at a real low. I even questioned my life,” Kendra shared on her E! show Kendra. “If it wasn’t for Alijah, the bond I had with her, I feel like I would have probably ended my… Read More
Source: https://www.whattoexpect.com/
