Hayden Panettiere Voluntarily Seeks Professional Help for Postpartum Depression

Actress Hayden Panettiere gave birth to her daughter in December 2014 and is now suffering postpartum depression, which she says is scary and painful. We've recently learned that she has voluntarily decided to seek professional help to assist in her battle.

Page Six reported that the Nashville star is seeking the help of a professional treatment center to cope with her postpartum depression. She and fiance Wladimir Klitschko welcomed their daughter, Kaya, one day after Christmas last year and although the birh was a blessing, Hayden has been battling the depression and made it public in September when she openly spoke out about it.

During an appearance with Live WIth Kelly and Michael the 26-year-old actress stated that there's a lot of misunderstandings about the sickness and it needs to be talked about more. "There's a lot of people out there that think it's not real, that's it not true, that it's something that's made up in their minds, that 'Oh, it's hormones,'" she stated during the appearance.

Her rep released a statement citing that the actress is dealing with the situation and would like to do it privately, as reported by Us Magazine. The mother-of-one stated that there are many women who battle postpartum depression on different levels, and some even consider harming their children. She, however, stated that she has never had those thoughts, but realizes that this is not something that she wants to simply brush off.

The Bring It On: All or Nothing star stated that women need a lot of support after having a child and her fiance Klitschko has been that support for her. She told Kelly and Michael how the 39-year-old was very supportive of her before and after the birth of Kaya. She recalled how "he would suck in his stomach and then [she] would put [her] stomach to his so that he could feel when [the baby] was moving, almost like she was in his stomach."

Ironically, Juliette Barnes, Panettiere's character on the ABC show, also suffered from extreme postpartum depression.

Don't forget to vote in our MT Buzz Awards! After you cast your votes, use the hashtag #MTBuzzys on Twitter to share your choices and automatically be entered for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

Tags

Hayden Panettiere