Hayden Panettiere is having treatment for postpartum depression. A spokeswoman for the 26-year-old said that the Nashville star had voluntarily sought professional help to deal with the condition at a treatment centre, and has asked the media to respect her privacy.Hayden gave birth to daughter Kaya Evodokia in December – the first child for the actress and her partner, 39-year-old professional heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko. Hayden has spoken openly about her struggles with post-partum depression since becoming a mother.
© Photo: Getty ImagesHayden Panettiere has checked into a treatment centre to seek help with postpartum depression
"I can very much relate," she said last month during an appearance in Live! With Kelly and Michael, while discussing her character Juliette Barnes' own PPD experiences. "It's something a lot of women experience. When (you are told) about postpartum depression you think it's 'I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or harm my child' – I've never, ever had those feelings. "Some women do. But you don't realise 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."
© Photo: Getty ImagesHayden and partner Wladimir Klitschko are parents to 10-month-old daughter Kaya
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 needs a lot of support."Hayden concluded: "Women are amazing. We do something that no man can do on this planet. I mean, we grow a human being in our body!"Just recently, Hayden told her fans that she was starting to feel like herself again. In a sunset snapshot she posted on Twitter at the weekend, she wrote alongside: "Feeling like I'm #finally coming back in my own body!" she wrote. "Mother #daughter #blessing #wellworthit."
