Nadia Sawalha is known for being very open about all aspects of her life, and the Loose Women panellist has been praised after speaking out about how she was really feeling in the early stages of motherhood. Following the arrival of her first daughter, Maddie, Nadia admitted that she felt overwhelmed and felt inadequate, which resulted in her developing eczema and feeling unhappy. The TV presenter encouraged other mums to speak out as she had bottled her feelings away. On Instagram, Nadia shared a beautiful photo of herself and Maddie as a baby, and wrote in the caption: "This photo stirs up mixed emotions . On the one hand my heart soars because there is my beautiful first born @maddiemaddieee in my arms cute as a button, utterly adorable. But then I look at my arms and hands red raw with eczema. I’m overweight and puffy and stressed."
Nadia Sawalha has been praised for her honest memory about being a first-time mum
The former EastEnders actress continued: "I found it so hard juggling work and motherhood . It was a terrible shock that I wasn’t a natural earth mother, and I was feeling completely inadequate and overwhelmed. The mistake I made was I kept all my negative thoughts to myself pretending to the outside world that I was on top of everything. I was NOT hence the horrific eczema ,over eating and general unhappiness. If you are a new mum feeling overwhelmed don’t be hard on yourself, honestly my lovelies, practically every other mum has felt the same way at some point . Don’t suffer in silence. Reach out to someone and just speak your truth. A problem shared is often a problem halved. And heh, all you wonder women, it does get better I promise!! Did you find motherhood a shock? Did you suffer in silence? Who did you lean on? Family? Friends? Health professional?"
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The Loose Women panellist shares daughters Maddie and Kiki with husband Mark Adderley
Many of Nadia's followers were quick to comment on her post, with many relating to how she had been feeling. One wrote: "Totally understand where you are coming from, took me second time around to talk about how I felt. I thought I was terrible for feeling the way I did and that I shouldn't talk about it but had to learn that it's ok to be not ok." Another added: "Very real and very well said, this well help lots of new mums." Maddie also commented on the photo, simply writing: "I love you."
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Nadia shares Maddie – now 16 - and younger daughter Kiki, 12, with her husband Mark Adderley. As well as her work on Loose Women, Nadia also runs a popular YouTube channel with her family, called Nadia Sawalha and Family. The mother-of-two and her husband also make regular podcasts about their marriage and parenting journey.
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