Hayden Panettiere asks for professional help to deal with postnatal depression

Hayden Panettiere is having treatment for postnatal depression.

A spokeswoman for the actress said in a statement that the Nashville star had voluntarily asked for professional help while dealing with the condition.

She has asked the media to respect her privacy while she's being treated.

Panettiere gave birth to her daughter in December. It's the first child for the 26-year-old actress and 39-year-old professional heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

She revealed she was pregnant in 2014 while taking part in an ice bucket challenge.

The actress started dating Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko, 39, in 2009.

They spilt up in 2011, before getting back together in 2013.

During the break Hayden Panettiere dated NFL player Scotty McKnight.

Panettiere's character on Nashville, Juliette Barnes, has also experienced postnatal - or postpartum - depression.

In Nashville singer Juliette Barnes and guitarist/producer Avery Barkley have just had a baby

The actress, 26, also starred in the original Heroes series and Scream 4.

What is postnatal depression?

Some new mothers suffer from postnatal depression days after giving birth.

Doctors say for many it can develop a few months, or even up to a year, after they've had their baby.

Kathryn Hollins works at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London and says postnatal depression is different from normal depression because it lasts a lot longer.

She said: "It's a continuous state over weeks, perhaps over a much longer period of time and it affects our ability to function. It affects our relationships with our partners and it affects our relationships with our babies.

"You might have symptoms like poor appetite or not being able to sleep.

"In its more severe form people might have suicidal thoughts, feeling actually life isn't worth living or it might even be feeling that it was a mistake having the baby, or feeling resentful towards the baby."

How is it treated?

Midwives and health visitors use a questionnaire called the Edinburgh Scale to check whether a mum has postnatal depression.

It's a series of 10 questions asking things like how happy you feel, whether you feel suicidal or if you feel panicky.

There are a number of treatments for postnatal depression including counselling, talking to therapists and anti-depressants.

If you want help for postnatal depression, there are a series of links at the BBC's Baby Britain Season page.

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