On Tuesday, Us Weekly broke the news that Nashville actress Hayden Panettiere is being treated for postpartum depression following the birth of her 10-month-old daughter Kaya. She is currently seeking professional help at a treatment facility, and her rep gave Us Weekly the following statement: "Hayden Panettiere is voluntarily seeking professional help at a treatment center as she is currently battling postpartum depression. She asks that the media respect her privacy during this time."
Panettiere first spoke about her postpartum depression while appearing on Live! With Kelly & Michael in September. It's something she and both her character on Nashville are experiencing. She said,
I can very much relate. 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. But you don’t realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on. It’s something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they’re not alone, and that it does heal.
She added, "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. It’s something that’s completely uncontrollable. It’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support."
Let's send the 26-year-old all the support in the world and respect her much-needed privacy during what has to be a difficult time.
