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Hayden Panettiere was sure she was knocking on death's door during the "rough birth" of her daughter.
In a recent interview with E! News, the Heroes actress, 36, opened up about the traumatic near-death experience she had while giving birth of her daughter Kaya in 2014, revealing that she nearly bled out while hemorrhaging. She shares the 11 year old with her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, though she relinquished custody of her daughter to her ex in 2018 and the pair now live in Ukraine, per People.
"I was sitting there and getting the C-section, and I knew that I was knocking on death's doorstep," she said, adding, "I just had the most motherly moment, though, where I said, 'God, please let me hear my daughter cry. I just want to know that she is okay and if it's my time to go, I'm okay with it.'"
Fortunately, Panettiere came out the other side, though she reportedly underwent seven blood transfusions and also battled an infection. Despite the terrifying situation, she admitted that she "wasn't afraid at all" and would have sacrificed herself "in a second" if it meant her daughter was okay.
The Nashville star, who is promoting her new memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, spoke more about her birth experience on CBS Mornings on Monday (May 18), sharing that not only did she have "a really rough birth to the point where I almost didn't make it through" but that she also struggled with postpartum depression.
"There I am with this beautiful, health, beautiful baby girl and this very fortunate life, and I could not for the life of me be happy," she said. "I was so depressed and I just couldn't find my way out [of] the dark."