Jennifer Lawrence opens up about postpartum: 'It's extremely isolating'
Jennifer Lawrence is getting candid about the challenges of postpartum and motherhood while promoting her new film "Die My Love" at the Cannes Film Festival.
During a press conference for the upcoming thriller, which follows a new mother's descent into madness, the Oscar winner reflected on how the role hit close to home.
"As a mother, it was really hard to separate what I would do as opposed to what she would do. And it was just heartbreaking," she said, according to Variety. "I had just had my firstborn, and there's not really anything like postpartum. It's extremely isolating, which is so interesting."
Lawrence drew parallels between her own experience and that of the film's main character.
"When Lynne moves this couple into Montana, she doesn't have a community," she continued. "She doesn't have her people. But the truth is, extreme anxiety and extreme depression is isolating, no matter where you are. You feel like an alien."
"Die My Love," which also stars Robert Pattinson as Lawrence's overwhelmed husband, had its world premiere at Cannes. Based on Ariana Harwicz's 2017 novel of the same name, the film centers on a new mother's spiral into psychosis following postpartum depression, which strains her mental health and marriage.
Lawrence, who shares two children with husband Cooke Maroney, revealed she was five months pregnant with her second child while filming.
"Having children changes everything. It changes your whole life. It's brutal and incredible," she explained. "So not only do they go into every decision of if I'm working, where I'm working, when I'm working, they've taught me -- I mean, I didn't know that I could feel so much and my job has a lot to do with emotion. It's almost like feeling a blister or something -- like, so sensitive. So they've changed my life, obviously, for the best and they've changed me creatively. I highly recommend having kids if you want to be an actor."
Pattinson, who recently became a father, also reflected on the struggles his character, and many new fathers, face.
"Trying to figure out what your role in the relationship is afterwards is incredibly difficult," he said, adding that his character doesn't "have the vernacular" to be able to support.
"Like he's just a guy. He doesn't seem to be the guy who is looking at TikTok reels of parenting and stuff," he continued. "He's just kind of hoping the relationship will go back to what it was and not understanding why this is happening to them, why this intruder has entered this relationship. I guess it's a fear that everyone has as soon as they have a kid."
In a lighthearted moment, Pattinson joked that becoming a father gave him "the biggest trove of energy and inspiration." Lawrence quipped in response, "You get energy?"
"This question is impossible for a guy to answer correctly," Pattinson said with a laugh, as the room erupted in chuckles. "What Jennifer said, I'm here just to support. Ever since she was born, it's reinvigorated the way I approach work and you're a completely different person the next day."
ABC News has reached out to Lawrence's team for additional comment.
What to know about postpartum depression
Postpartum depression affects as many as one in eight women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can cause symptoms such as withdrawal from loved ones, excessive crying, anxiety, anger, self-doubt and intrusive thoughts. Unlike the common "baby blues," postpartum depression can last for weeks or months and is more intense.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, Dr. Marlee Madora, a women's mental health psychiatrist at Montefiore Health System, said new moms need just as much support as their newborns.
"You're spending so much time holding, caring, feeding the baby that you're losing certain things that might make you feel more connected to others," she said. "It not only takes a village to raise a baby, but it also takes a village to take care of a new mom."
