Behati Prinsloo Felt ‘Helpless’ from Postpartum Depression After First Baby with Adam Levine

While the conversation about postpartum depression has grown in recent years, there are still far too many women who suffer in silence — afraid or embarrassed to seek help. This week, Adam Levine’s wife Behati Prinsloo opened up about postpartum depression and the need for new moms to speak out. Prinsloo struggled with postpartum after giving birth to her and Levine’s first child and says she feels “lucky” to have gotten through it. Now a proud mother of two, Prinsloo is advocating for other women to come forward with their struggle — “no matter how small.”

Prinsloo and Levine share two daughters together: Dusty Rose, 2; and Gio Grace, 1. Prinsloo struggled the most after Dusty Rose was born and found her symptoms less severe with her second child: “After my first baby, I had a little postpartum depression and it was difficult to get back into normal life,” Prinsloo told PorterEdit in January. “But after the second one everything felt so much easier; it was easier for me to workout, breastfeeding was easier.”

As a new mom, Prinsloo emphasized how normal it is to feel overwhelmed and expressed how grateful she was for Levine’s presence. “I had moments of postpartum [depression] that I felt like it was coming through, but my husband was so incredibly supportive and always got me out of it,” the Victoria’s Secret model told Today. “I think it’s very normal, though, as a young mom and a new mom to feel helpless and to feel over emotional, you know.” We do know — and we really appreciate Prinsloo spreading the word.

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While Prinsloo’s own experience never escalated to an “extreme case,” she didn’t hesitate to ask for help: “I think I got lucky,” she said of her (relatively) manageable experience. “But you can see yourself spiraling.” What’s more, it shouldn’t matter whether your experience would be considered “extreme” or not — “it’s never too little to get help or to ask for help,” Levine’s wife advised. “So, no matter how small your feelings and stress—or whatever it is about being a new mom — there’s always help out there and support from family and friends.”