Alyssa Milano says giving birth reminded her of her experience with sexual assault.
Alyssa Milano at the 2016 UNICEF ball
The 48-year-old actress is mother to Milo, 10, and Elizabeth, seven, and has said her first experience with childbirth triggered her memories of being sexually assaulted, because the process was “invasive” and involved “being held down”.
She said: "I remembered at one point [during childbirth] really not enjoying the fact that lots of people had access to my vagina. And thinking to myself, 'Why does— I don't like this. Why does it feel so familiar? I've never had a baby before. Why does this invasive feeling feel so familiar?' That was just a fleeting moment, a tick in time, but I didn't forget about it.
“After going through therapy after giving birth to Milo and remembering that one moment of feeling like I was being held down and had things being done to me that I didn't want, to me, was very reminiscent of being sexually assaulted.
“It triggered all of these memories that I thought I had dealt with. I think anyone who has dealt with trauma has the moments where you're like, 'Yeah, I'm fine. I've dealt with that.' Versus the moments where you go, 'Oh, no I didn't. I just tried to tuck it away so no one could see them, or I couldn't see them or feel them anymore.' "
The ‘Charmed’ alum also said she battled with anxiety postpartum, and thinks part of the reason she struggled so much was because she didn’t feel “in control” of her body.
She added during an appearance on People’s ‘Me Becoming Mom’ podcast: "That's what it felt like for me. I gotta think that because it felt that way for me, it must've felt that way for other women. I wonder how much of my postpartum anxiety was due to — of course, hormones and all of the things — but also that feeling that felt like I wasn't in control, you know?"
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