Released on May 19, the new memoir offers an unfiltered exploration of the actress’s personal and professional life, particularly highlighting the challenges surrounding her daughter’s birth.
The Scream actress and her ex-fiancé, boxer Wladimir Klitschko, welcomed their daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, on December 9, 2014. In this book, she details the harrowing childbirth experience that eventually led to struggles with alcoholism.
“I was in labor with Kaya for 14 hours and spent an additional three hours in surgery after her birth,” she writes in an excerpt shared by The Cut. “During my C-section, my blood wouldn’t clot, requiring doctors to close the blood vessels in my uterus to prevent excessive bleeding. I underwent seven transfusions and had a persistent fever. My uterus was infected, and the antibiotics administered during labor were insufficient to reduce my temperature.”
Panettiere recalls waking up in the recovery room, feeling “exhausted, disoriented, and in significant pain.”
Following Kaya’s birth, she found it difficult to immediately connect with her newborn, who she felt “seemed like someone else’s baby.”
“I had always heard that mothers experience an overwhelming rush of love upon seeing their baby, but I felt nothing,” she explains. “Kaya was just there, and I now had to learn how to bond with her. It felt like a daunting task, and I was only at the beginning.”
