Bindi Irwin Pleads for Fans to 'Be Gentle' When Asking About Second Baby, Calls Daughter a Miracle

Bindi Irwin is pleading for people to be mindful when asking her about plans to expand her family as she reveals she was diagnosed with endometriosis.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old shared on Instagram that she recently underwent surgery for endometriosis after having to "hide the pain" for over a decade. Endometriosis is a reproductive condition in which uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus, causing cramping and chronic pain.

"Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn't live like I was. Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain. To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep & difficult to remove, & a chocolate cyst," she shared.

Irwin, who is already mom to almost 2-year-old daughter Grace Warrior with husband Chandler Powell, went on to note that although "things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone's life, however, that is not always the case."

Bindi Irwin/instagram

"Please be gentle & pause before asking me (or any woman) when we'll be having more children," she urged. "After all that my body has gone through, I feel tremendously grateful that we have our gorgeous daughter. She feels like our family's miracle."

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Irwin and Powell, 26, welcomed their first baby together, daughter Grace, in March 2021.

Last year, Irwin reflected on her first year of motherhood, telling PEOPLE that she's learned it's okay to find her own way.

"I think every parent should know it's okay if you don't do things exactly by the book. You have to find your own rhythm," she shared.

"There's a lot of information, opinions and advice that you get, and as a new parent you go, 'I have to follow all this,' and you feel a pressure to try and be the perfect parent, come up with the perfect routine," Powell told PEOPLE.

"But you are the world's leading expert on your own baby. So we've taken solace in that. There's a lot of great advice out there, and we've used a bunch of it, but you know better than anyone what's best for your baby."

Added Irwin: "I think the best advice I got was the fact that you can read every baby book, you can take on board everybody's advice, but at the end of the day, you know what works for your child. And that was so freeing for me."