Lake Bell on suffering with postnatal depression and her son’s difficult home birth
Lake Bell has opened up about how depressed she felt after the traumatic birth of her son.
The 40-year-old actress talked about how her daughter Nova, now 5, and her son Osgood, two, were both born at home with their umbilical cord around their necks.
“We didn’t know whether he [my son] would be alive or walk or talk,” she admitted.
Lake Bell reveals she suffered from PND after her son almost died during his home birth
On a recent episode of The Conversation with Amanda De Cadenet podcast, Lake revealed that her youngest child nearly didn’t survive his birth and was admitted to a hospital NICU unit for 11 days.
The Bless This Mess star admitted that the guilt of this experience led her to take antidepressant medication Zoloft in order to cope.
Mom-of-two Lake said she went on meds despite her “holistic… kumbaya, new age” views against it.
”I was like I need something, I can’t be a person. I don’t know how to be … I had never felt that before,” she explained.
“My heart aches for those who feel that through the hardship of their life every day, like, I have felt it. I know what it is and it’s a monster. It’s a demon.”
Lake Bell: ‘It took me to a place where I could be’
Lake said she was put on a low does of Zoloft for around a year before tapering off.
“I begged for it and I begged for it for my own well-being and for my family’s well-being,” she revealed.
“It took me to a place where I could be. It was rational. I needed to just be Lake and I felt, finally like, I could breathe the air that Lake breaths, not like some other person that I don’t recognize.”
The Man Up actress said she felt guilty for not listening to her body or the fact she had a big baby, her son was 11lbs when he was born.
And she stresses that women should not feel bad or be looked down upon for taking medication or seeking professional help.
“I had a lot of cues that I was too big to birth at home but the midwife was not available to make that call and I felt let down for sure,” she added.
“I think parents, we really are in it together.”
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