Halle Bailey Says She's Suffering From "Severe" Postpartum Depression
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Halle Bailey's postpartum struggles have come in waves.
The Little Mermaid actress opened up about the mental health challenges she's faced as a new mom since welcoming her baby boy Halo with boyfriend DDG.
"I have severe, severe postpartum [depression]," she said in a Snapchat video that was reshared by a fan account on Instagram April 16, "and I don't know if any new moms can relate, but it's to the point where it's really bad, and it's hard for me to be separated from my baby for more than 30 minutes at a time before I start to kind of freak out."
Halle noted that her relationship to her body has changed, which is where she said her postpartum depression stems from.
"The only thing that's been hard for me is feeling normal in my own body," she explained. "I feel like a completely different person when I look in the mirror. I just feel like I'm in a whole new body, and I don't know who I am."
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The 24-year-old admitted she wasn't fully aware of the mental health issues new moms can experience.
"I didn't realize how serious of a thing it actually was," she said about postpartum depression. "Now, going through it, it feels like you're swimming in this ocean that's, like, the biggest waves you've ever felt, and you're trying not to drown."
Despite her experience, Halle made it clear that her love for Halo is unwavering: "It has nothing to do with my baby. It has everything to do with me and who I am right now."
As for why The Color Purple star decided to share insight into her postpartum journey? She was triggered by social media comments about her family.
"It's honestly really crazy to me that people would feel the need to say such hurtful things," Halle revealed. "Normally, I'm OK. I'll see it—and it will hurt my feelings—but I won't say anything. I just suck it up, swallow my pride and wish that person well. But today, I couldn't because it grows something in me to bring awareness to."
That's why she reminded her fans to lead with kindness.
"You never know what somebody else is going through," she added, "especially someone who just had a baby."
Halle isn't the only star to get candid about motherhood. Keep reading to see what other celebs have said about their postpartum bodies, breastfeeding journey and more.
Keke Palmer
"I think my breastfeeding journey was also very empowering because it was so difficult," Keke told Essence in an interview published Aug. 21. "And I wanted to give up at so many different points, but I just kept pushing myself and kept trying to figure it out."
She added, "The relationship I had with my son during that process empowered me to get back up and do things for myself again."
Tia Mowry
The Game alum, who shares son Cree, 12, and daughter Cairo, 5, with ex-husband Cory Hardrict, opened up about her struggles with breastfeeding. "When I had Cree, I was struggling to breastfeed him," she wrote in an Aug. 10 Instagram. I was only able to breastfeed for 3 months before having to switch to formula. And during the second time, I found that I was able to breastfeed Cairo for 13 months."
She continued, "Nonetheless, the journey was difficult...if you are struggling with breastfeeding, I want you to know that it is more than okay to feed your children formula. As long as your children are fed, loved, happy, and supported that's all that matters."
Rumer Willis
The House Bunny actress snapped a photo of herself nursing daughter Louetta, who she shares with musician Derek Richard Thomas, during a family beach day in August 2023.
Rosie Hungtington-Whiteley
In a carousel of Instagram pictures, the former Victoria's Secret model shared a photo of herself breastfeeding her and Jason Statham's baby girl, Isabella.
Ashley Graham
In May 2022, Ashley Graham shared a photo of herself feeding her twin boys, Malachi Ervin and Roman Ervin, at the same time. She captioned the post, "double fisting (peep the whacky tan lines)."
Elsa Hosk
In March 2021, the Victoria's Secret model shared a pic of herself on Instagram breastfeeding her baby girl, Tuulikki Joan Daly. A couple of hours later, she shared the same photo on her Instagram Story, writing, "Find it interesting the amount of dms I get from men who get offended when you post a photo breastfeeding... Like, why is the most natural thing so offending to you? Breasts literally excists [sic] so we can feed our children [red heart emoji]."
Nikki Reed
The Twilight star opened up about breastfeeding her 20-month-old daughter Bodhi Soleil Reed Somerhalder in an Instagram post in 2019. "To be honest, I have no idea how long her and I will be on this journey together. I follow her lead, and she tells me exactly what she needs," she wrote.
Kehlani
"little bear," Kehlani tweeted in 2019, along with photos of her and baby Adeya.
Hilary Duff
"On a lighter note.... @acrebaja was bomb," the actress shared on Instagram while kicking off 2019, after welcoming her second child, daughter Banks.
April Love Geary
"Feeding time for the little munchkin," Robin Thicke's girlfriend wrote by a video of her feeding their daughter Mia.
Molly Sims
The actress breastfed son Grey, writing on Instagram in 2017, "BREASTFEEDING=JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE!"
Audrina Patridge
The Hills alum and mom of one told her Instagram followers in 2016 that her sister, Casey Loza, is "always capturing me in moments. #momonthego."
Stacy Keibler
The actress is all smiles as she snaps a selfie of her feeding her little one.
Karolina Kurkova
The model mom of two encourages other moms to share #breastfeedingselfie pics.
Kandi Burruss
The Bravo star astutely pointed out in 2016 that "this #breastfeeding stuff is no joke."
Alyssa Milano
The actress shared this photo in honor of daughter Elizabella's first birthday in 2015. "Happy Birthday, my beautiful Elizabella. You've taught me that my heart has no end. You were the missing piece to my soul. Thank you for choosing me," she wrote.
