The Ups & Downs on the Road to Motherhood: In Their Own Words

Her Challenge: Postpartum depression

“I had really bad postpartum depression after I had my son, and it frightened me,” the 28-year-old British superstar told Vanity Fair in her December cover interview. “My knowledge of postpartum — or post-natal, as we call it in England — is that you don’t want to be with your child; you’re worried you might hurt your child; you’re worried you weren’t doing a good job,” she said. “But I was obsessed with my child. I felt very inadequate; I felt like I’d made the worst decision of my life.” The mom of one shares 4-year-old son Angelo James with partner of five years Simon Konecki, 42.

Her Challenge: Emergency C-section

Now the mom of two happy and healthy baby boys, Saldana recently opened up about a scary 2014 emergency C-section. “The boys came at 32 weeks,” she told Allure in an interview. “They found protein in my urine; my platelets crashed. I didn’t qualify for an epidural, so I delivered under general anesthetic. I didn’t even meet them until a day later.” Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio, born in late 2014, were delivered prematurely and landed in the neonatal intensive care unit. “We allowed ourselves to have a moment of ‘poor us.’ And that was it. Then somebody cried, and it was ‘Got to go!’ “

Her challenge: Postpartum depressiona

The Nashville star, 27, struggled with postpartum depression after the 2014 birth of her daughter Kaya with her fiancé, professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko. “[She] is voluntarily seeking professional help at a treatment center as she is currently battling postpartum depression,” her rep told PEOPLE. On Live! with Kelly and Michael in September, Panettiere opened up about the struggle, 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.”

Her challenge: Baby blues

After she and husband Nick welcomed son Camden in September 2012, the mom waffled between feeling blissful and blue. And things reached a critical point when the actress reluctantly started handing off her baby to eager friends and family because she “was sick of feeling like a milk machine.” Her remedy: much-needed alone time to contemplate her new role as a mommy. “It’s okay if we can’t do it all, because … we have already done so much.”

Her challenge: Postpartum depression, miscarriage

After delivering son Moses in 2006, the actress “felt like a zombie” she told Good Housekeeping. “I couldn’t connect [to Moses]. I just thought it meant I was a terrible mother.” When Coldplay frontman hubby Chris Martin suspected postpartum depression, Paltrow, whose daughter, Apple, was born in 2004, finally sought help and soon recovered. Fast-forward to 2013: Without providing a timeline, the actress revealed to the Mail on Sunday‘s You magazine she had suffered a miscarriage. “I had a really bad experience … It didn’t work out and I nearly died.”

Her challenge: Pregnancy complications

During her third pregnancy, the model-designer knew something was wrong as she got close to her delivery date. “I had strong pains and kept telling the doctors … no one could figure it out. We ended up having to do a C-section,” she explained. “They ended up finding all kinds of things in there that we had to take care of.” But all’s well that ends well: The Brazilian-born beauty, who is also mom to Levi, 8, and Vida, 6, gave birth to son Livingston in December 2012.

Her challenge: Severe morning sickness

Even royalty can have a troubled pregnancy, as Kate discovered when she was felled by hyperemesis (a condition that causes acute nausea, vomiting and possible dehydration) in her first trimester. After landing in a London hospital for four days in December 2012 and taking it easy at home for several more weeks, Kate resumed her daily schedule while awaiting her summer due date for baby George, though faced the same diagnosis again when pregnant with Princess Charlotte in 2014.

Her challenge: Difficulty conceiving

Theirs was a simple wish: to have a baby together. But after years of unsuccessful attempts, the actress and husband Max Handelman considered using a gestational surrogate. “Once my focus became the baby and not the pregnancy, it was a very easy decision,” said The Hunger Games actress. Son Felix was born in March 2011, while second son, Magnus, was also born using a surrogate in November 2012.

Her challenge: Almost lost her baby

While carrying her fourth child, Spelling woke up one night to find herself in a scary situation. “There was so much blood I thought, ‘I’m dying. Not just [losing] the baby, but I’m dying,'” shared the reality star, who’s also mom to Liam, Stella, and Hattie. Husband Dean McDermott rushed Spelling to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with placenta previa. After a 10-week hospital stay followed by months of bed rest, Spelling gave birth to a healthy boy, Finn, in August 2012.

Her challenge: Struggled with IVF

When Röhm found out she couldn’t get pregnant naturally, she was heartbroken, but she and fiancé Ron Anthony didn’t give up, instead trying in vitro fertilization (IVF). Although it was “a roller coaster of emotions and physical challenges,” in the end she got what she wanted: daughter Easton was born in April 2008. “I thank God every day for the medical advancements that allowed me the choice to be the mother I had dreamt of being.”

Her challenge: Baby lost heartbeat

In her 2013 documentary, Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream, the superstar revealed that she suffered a miscarriage two years earlier. “I flew back to New York to get my checkup – and no heartbeat,” she explained. “Literally the week before I went to the doctor, everything was fine.” A year later, she and husband Jay-Z were blessed with a baby girl, Blue Ivy. “So many people go through it, and in the end, I have my daughter,” she said on Oprah’s Next Chapter. “There is hope. I feel so fortunate.”

Her challenge: Infertility, cancer

When the E! News host and hubby Bill Rancic couldn’t get pregnant after years of trying, the couple turned to IVF, but that too was problematic, resulting in a miscarriage and another attempt that didn’t work. It also led to the discovery of a breast tumor, resulting in weeks of radiation and a double mastectomy. Not giving up on their desire to have a baby, the couple decided to use a gestational carrier and in August 2012, they welcomed son Edward Duke.