Hayden Panettiere has sought out treatment for postpartum depression.

According to E! News, a representative for the actress confirmed the news saying, "Hayden Panettiere is voluntarily seeking professional help at a treatment center as she is currently battling postpartum depression. She asks that the media respect her privacy during this time."

The Nashville star gave birth to Kaya, her first child with fiance Wladimir Klitschko, on December 9 of last year. Since then, Panettiere has opened up about her struggle with postpartum depression in an attempt to start a dialogue about it and the different ways in which in manifests.

During an interview on Live! With Kelly and Michael, Panettiere spoke candidly about the effects of postpartum depression, saying, "It's something a lot of women experience. When [you are told] about postpartum depression you think it's 'I feel negative feelings towards my child; I want to injure or hurt my child.' I've never, ever had those feelings. Some women do, but you don't realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on. It's something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they're not alone, and that it does heal."

She continued, saying, "There's a lot of misunderstanding. There's a lot of people out there that think that it's not real, that it's not true, that it's something that's made up in their minds, that 'Oh, it's hormones.' They brush it off. It's something that's completely uncontrollable. It's really painful and it's really scary and women need a lot of support."

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