Emmerdale star Charley Webb has opened up about motherhood, including her experience of post-natal depression following the birth of her first child.
Charley, who plays Debbie Dingle in the ITV soap, shared the candid post on Instagram, also revealing the first photo the family had taken after the birth of Charley and Matthew Wolfenden's youngest son.
"This is our first picture as a [five]," she wrote, telling fans that the moment was captured just "a couple of hours" after Ace was born. "I can't lie, I find being pregnant really hard," she admitted, before recalling her experiences with pregnancy and becoming a mum.
"At the same time I do know how lucky I am to be able to fall pregnant pretty easily/at all," Charley continued. "[But] I had horrendous sickness with all [three] of the boys which pretty much lasted my whole pregnancies. I found it so hard to be able to function, all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. Something that gets harder when you've got others running around.
Related: Emmerdale's Charley Webb seeks parenting advice over her four-month-old son
"I know it could have been a lot worse so I'm not complaining, I'm just being honest. My births on the other hand have all been amazing."
Revealing that she "suffered with post-natal depression" following the birth of her and Matthew's first son Buster back in 2010, Charley told fans that she "didn't realise" she was depressed "at the time".
"With Bowie I was so aware how I felt before that I really managed things much better," she explained. "I made sure I got him in a routine really early on and for me, I think that helped me (I'm a bit of a control freak)."
Reflecting on her growing family, Charley also admitted that welcoming Ace and becoming a mum to three kids was a "jump". "Luckily Ace is a really good baby but suddenly there's more of them than there is of you."
Offering advice to anyone going through something similar, the Emmerdale star encouraged followers to "be honest, be truthful" and talk about how they feel with friends and family.
"No feelings are wrong, no matter what they are," she added. "We all have good days and bad and that's ok."
Emmerdale currently airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7pm on ITV.
We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Organisations who can offer support include the Association for Post-Natal Illness on 0207 386 0868 (https://apni.org) or the PANDAS Foundation on 0808 1961 776 (http://www.pandasfoundation.org.uk).
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