Hayden Panettiere opened up on CBS Mornings about a childbirth that left her “almost” not making it through, the postpartum depression that followed, and how her own mother’s past shaped her fears as a parent—while also sharing that her relationship with daugh
Hayden Panettiere’s voice broke as she revisited the moment her pregnancy ended and her life nearly tipped into something irreversible. Speaking on CBS Mornings with Gayle King on Monday, the Nashville actress described a birth that became terrifyingly close to loss.
“I had a really rough birth to the point where I almost didn’t make it through,” Panettiere said, adding that she had otherwise “had a wonderful pregnancy” and “worked throughout [her] whole pregnancy.”
What happened after Kaya’s arrival was its own kind of danger—one that didn’t show on the outside.. Panettiere became visibly emotional as she talked about postpartum depression. saying that despite having “this beautiful. healthy. beautiful baby girl and this very fortunate life. ” she “could not for the life of me be happy.”
“I was so depressed. I just couldn’t find my way out,” she said.
She explained that she “desperately” wanted to be happy. but that the reality of motherhood didn’t match the picture she had been carrying.. “I had all these ideas in my head of what I wanted to do as a mom. ” she said. and then admitted the gulf between expectation and experience made everything heavier.
Panettiere connected those feelings to her own childhood and her complicated relationship with her mother. She pointed directly to trauma from her upbringing with Lesley Vogel, saying she was “also, at the same time, scared because of what my mom did to me that I might do that to my child.”
Now, the focus shifts to where she says things stand today. Panettiere said she is in a better place, even after giving up full custody. Speaking about Kaya, she described a relationship she treasures and continues to build.
“I’m so blessed to have a great relationship with her,” she said. “I fly over there as much as I can. I’m on FaceTime with her all the time.” Panettiere noted that Kaya is now 11 years old and is “calling Mommy more and more.”
The interview comes as Panettiere prepares to release her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, on Tuesday.. In the same stretch of conversation. she recalled how hard experiences from her life—including postpartum depression and the memories tied to her mother—bled into both her personal and family story.
For viewers, the moment is captured in the CBS Mornings segment at the 5:56 mark, included alongside the interview video.
Hayden Panettiere memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning CBS Mornings Gayle King postpartum depression childbirth Kaya Lesley Vogel Nashville actress
Wait so she almost died but still “worked throughout” the whole pregnancy? That seems wild.
Postpartum depression is real but it always makes me mad when people act like it’s just “baby blues.” Like girl, she couldn’t be happy, that’s serious.
I feel like the article is missing the point though… if she gave up full custody then how is she “blessed” with a great relationship? Not saying she’s bad, just confused. Also isn’t the memoir gonna have all the details that got her in trouble? idk
My cousin had postpartum stuff and nobody took her seriously until she snapped, so I’m glad Hayden said something. But also the title sounds dramatic like it’s gonna be another “reckoning” thing… memoirs always be like that. And the part where she’s scared she’ll do what her mom did, that hit me, even though I don’t know the whole history. I just hope she’s actually okay now and not using the interview for promo.