Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals she had postnatal depression after the birth of her daughter

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has opened up about her experience with postnatal depression after giving birth to her daughter seven years ago.

Sarah, best known for her starring role in 90's US drama Buffy The Vampire Slayer, is mum to Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Rocky with husband Freddie Prinze Jr., but admits she struggled to adapt to motherhood the first time round.

The mum-of-two shared a throwback photo with her 1.5 million Instagram followers, accompanied by a heartfelt personal narrative of her battle with postnatal depression.

The gorgeous black and white shot shows new mum Sarah snuggled up with baby Charlotte, both looking serenely into the camera. But in reality, things at the time were far from picture perfect, as she admits that she 'struggled with postpartum depression after [her] first baby was born.'

'Having kids is wonderful, and life changing, and rarely what you're prepared for. I love my children more than anything in the world,' she begins.

But 'like a lot of women', the new joy of motherhood was dampened by unfamiliar feelings that she found it hard to process.

'To those of you going through this, know that you're not alone and that it really does get better,' she continues. 'I got help, and made it through, and every day since has been the best gift I could ever have asked for.'

Sarah wants to encourage other women to feel able to seek help for their own mental health, and ends her post urging people to play an active role in their healthcare communities. 'If you believe that postpartum depression should be covered by healthcare, please take a moment and go to callmecongress.com today, find your rep's numbers and let them know,' she adds.

Fans rushed to praise Sarah for her bravery in speaking out about the issue.

'Beautiful!!! I suffered with post partum depression with both my kids. The second one was worse than the first time. As hard as it was I wouldn't trade having my children for anything in the world,' applauded one commenter.

'I shared this post thank you so much for sharing. I noticed you usually don't [comment] on political issues and that makes it mean so much more,' said another.