Motherhood is the toughest job in the world and every woman bravely endures it all, to bring forth a new life into the world. Moreover, this special journey of being a mother takes away everything from a woman’s life, and they are left with enduring a lot of changes in their physical and mental health. One such condition that is often seen in women is medically termed as post-partum depression which seeps in the mental state of a new mom after welcoming the child into this world. Sadly, in such an overtly judgemental society, women scarcely come out and speak on it, and most of them are left as silent sufferers. However, take a look at some of these celebrity moms who came out in public and bravely discussed suffering and finding a way out of their phase of post-partum depression!
Shilpa Shetty got married to her NRI-beau, Raj Kundra in November 2009 and was blessed with their first child, Viaan in 2012. Years later, the couple completed their family with the birth of their daughter, Samisha in 2020. Interestingly, despite having maintained a properly fit body all throughout her life, it was right after the birth of her son that she was completely exhausted with the daunting tasks of motherhood for the first time. She had opened up about suffering from postpartum depression and mentioned:
“The first time around, you are breastfeeding and tired all the time. You feel like a cow. I also went through postpartum depression, though I bounced out of it in about two weeks.”
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Deepika Singh rose to fame with her hit serial, Diya Aur Baati Hum which eventually made her a household name. Moreover, the show turned out to be a life-changing event for her as she ended up marrying the director of the show, Rohit Raj Goyal in 2014. Three years later, the couple welcomed their son, Soham into the world. Deepika, after the birth of her son had candidly opened up on her pregnancy journey and had revealed that she too suffered from bouts of postpartum depression. Revealing how daily workouts helped her in recovering, she mentioned:
“Everything comes back " that my Guruji #sanatanchakarvarty told me during my postpartum days when I was suffering from low energy levels, sore back, low self-esteem, furious about how to take care of baby and myself, how to be regular for the workout. But this line gave me a huge motivation, maybe to you as well.”
Tum Mile fame Soha Ali Khan tied the knot with the love of her life and co-actor, Kunal Kemmu in 2015. Two years later, she gave birth to their daughter, Inaaya. The fitness-enthusiast mommy was quite open about sharing her entire pregnancy journey and on many instances had even revealed some unknown episodes from the same. For instance, she recalled having to deal with postpartum depression and had tumultuous emotional breakdowns all at the same time. In an interview with Filmfare, she opened up on the same and mentioned:
“A new mother goes through ups and downs, you get blues, you get depressed, you feel bad as everyone is going out to party and you’ve got to be at home. You can’t do certain things. I tried to remain balanced about it. But I’ve had breakdowns in the early weeks.”
Yeh Hai Mohabbatein fame Chahatt Khanna has been a proud mommy when it comes to being a brave single mommy to her daughters, Zohra and Amaira. Nevertheless, the role of a mommy is easier said than done, and Chahatt too has faced a fair share of tribulations on the same. For instance, she once revealed that after the birth of her secondborn, she had suffered from a prolonged phase of postpartum depression which affected her personality in totality. In her words:
"After all the body ache, weakness, weak bones, unable to sit, walk or stand, I finally got myself to gym after 6 months of postpartum, it's so difficult how your body changes after childbirth and especially in less gap, it's difficult to come out of physical, mental and emotional loop, but a small hope of life can help you when everything seems dull, postpartum depression isn't easy, but nothing comes easy in life. Stay fit, stay calm and try to smile a lot, happiness will eventually follow, to all the moms, you are the creators be one! Get back to life."
Esha Deol married her childhood love, Bharat Takhtani in 2012 and became the mommy of her girls, Radhya (2017) and Miraya (2019). While Esha was definitely not a first-time mommy when she gave birth to her secondborn, however she went through a rollercoaster of emotional breakdowns and phases of postpartum depression. Opening up on the same, Esha in an interview mentioned:
“When I had Radhya, there was no postpartum depression, nothing. People used to look at me and ask ‘Tu theek hai na?’ And I used to wonder why are they asking like this, I mean yeah main theek hoon. But after my second delivery, I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t experience so I didn’t know. And right after delivery, I didn’t know what was going on as I was in a room filled with people and suddenly, I felt like crying. I sat quietly and very dull, low. And I have given birth to a beautiful baby girl again and it’s a very happy moment in my life and I didn’t know what’s going on.”
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Versatile actress, former model, television anchor and a perfect fitness enthusiast, Mandira Bedi is often tagged as the iron-woman for no ordinary reason. In her personal life, she was married to Raj Kaushal in 1999 and the couple had welcomed their first child, Vir in 2011. Interestingly, Mandira too faced her share of postpartum depression for upto 6 weeks post the birth of her son. She recalled how much like every new mom things started to feel haphazard for the longest time and how then it was her family who helped her through this. In her words:
“As a new mum I faced one issue and I would like to talk about it--Postpartum depression is for real. I had it for 6 weeks. I did not fall in love with my baby the moment I saw him. I didn’t. It took me a while to adjust to this new change and it suddenly dawned upon me that my independence is gone, also because I had a baby after 12 years of marriage. I would think that I didn’t sign up for this. Your hormones make you have these weird conversations with yourself and I was depressed, and it lasted for about 6 weeks. I have no qualms in saying that I went through postnatal depression. You need the support of your family around you who know that such a thing exists.”
A superbly successful fashion model and wife of eminent writer, Durjoy Datta, Avantika Mohan has made a name for herself on social media. The couple who tied the knot in 2016 was blessed with their first daughter, Rayna in 2017. They were later blessed with their secondborn daughter in 2023. Being a public figure, Avantika has been quite vocal about her opinions and proof of the same was found when she spoke about battling postpartum depression after her daughter, Rayna was born. She mentioned:
“I was diagnosed with depression when I was 19 and was medicated for it. I was fine for a really long time but when I got pregnant I started to suffer from depression again; that's what it felt like at the time. My mother thought it very absurd that I was behaving like this; she kept telling me I should feel blessed, that it was wrong for me to feel this way. And I couldn't explain what I felt like. There was the happiness of course, but there was an overwhelming sadness that loomed over me like a never-ending dark cloud. I didn't take any treatment (I should have but I guess I was too confused and a bit ashamed) but I got better over time. People can be sad in very happy situations as well. This is what depression is. Not everything has to be wrong in your life to suffer from depression. Sometimes it's inexplicable.”
Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki fame, Shweta Kawaatra was a popular face in Indian television before she took a long sabbatical owing to her personal life. After her marriage to actor, Manav Gohil in 2004, the couple was blessed with their daughter, Zahra in 2012. It was years later in an interview that Shweta shed light on her mental health post the birth of her daughter and revealed having gone through postpartum depression. She mentioned:
“My journey as a mother has been really beautiful, however, I too went through post-partum depression in the first year. Women do undergo baby blues, but they seldom bring it to notice. I'm glad I addressed the issue since it helped me a lot. The first year of motherhood was very tough; and especially for those of us in nuclear families, this issue is graver, since the responsibility cannot be shared. Practising Buddhism helped me a lot; I would chant whenever I felt I needed strength. I was able to elevate my own life conditions and balance everything at one time and be happy.”
Television actress, Shveta Salve married her long-time boyfriend, Hemant Sethi in 2012 and the couple was blessed with their daughter, Arya in 2016. And like many other mommies, Shveta suffered from postpartum depression that actually started as prenatal depression right through her third trimester of pregnancy. Recalling about the same in an interview, she mentioned:
“Aches and pains, carpal tunnel all happened, my lovely pregnancy glow was dimming and sometimes depression would sink in. Am I ever going to be myself again? Will my body never bounce back? Is my life going to change so drastically? Would I have to make new friends and my social life will end? Will I ever be able to wear a bikini and go to the beach??”
Sameera Reddy has now more than ever, made a name for herself as a parent-influencer for many out there who need guidance for their new parenthood journey. A mother of two, her son, Hans and her daughter, Nayra, Sameera has set inspiration for many new moms out there to open up without hesitation about the realistic problems they face. She too, once opened up about her motherhood journey after the birth of her son, Hans and revealed to have suffered from postpartum depression. In her words:
“I touched 102 Kgs in May 2015, the month Hans was born and I’m not scared to admit it. I felt completely disconnected. I didn't know who he was. I gave him to my husband and told him, 'I just don't feel good about this, please take him'. It literally took me one week to understand what was going on. It took me to the deepest darkest places in my head. My confidence shattered. And I couldn’t lose the weight for a year after because I was too scared to even step out. I disappeared because I didn’t have the strength to be judged by the world after all the years of being glam and fit onscreen.”
What do you think about these brave mommies who boldly opened up on battling postpartum depression?
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