8 celeb mums open up about their struggles with motherhood

Scroll through actress and entrepreneur Sheila Sim’s Instagram page, and you’ll see that the mum of two doesn’t shy away from voicing out about the reality of motherhood. In a recent post, she spoke candidly about being burnt out and drained from caring for her kids and being unable to enjoy time with them. From having to eat soggy food while she cooks hot meals for her family to managing her young children while she’s sick, these are everyday challenges that many mothers also face.

She added, “I understand that these experiences aren’t anything special or out of the ordinary for mothers. We go through these challenges every single day. But some days, it all hits you harder than usual. Some days, it’s so much harder to stay rational, logical, and aware.”

While both her kids have grown up strong and healthy, former radio DJ Jamie Yeo has shared that the trauma of having premature babies (also called preemies) followed her for a decade.

In an interview with The Weekly, the 46-year-old told us about the fears and exhaustion she had when her daughter Alysia was born underweight at only one kg, and had to be admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for seven weeks following her birth. She also opened up about feeling guilt about being unable to produce enough breastmilk, a common experience for mums of premature babies. Read more about her journey here.

For some parents, conceiving in itself is already a struggle. While influencer and entrepreneur Velda Tan finally got pregnant via IVF after two years of trying for a second child, it tragically ended up in a miscarriage. “I’ve never felt such deep sadness as the embryo & placenta expelled from my body; heartbroken thinking of what it could have been,” she wrote in an Instagram post.

She also added that she decided to share her experience despite it being something so personal and raw, as she knew how isolating infertility and pregnancy loss could be.

She did later go on to get pregnant again and gave birth to her second daughter Eleyna, who arrived on Sept 2022.

Prior to the arrival of her first child with actor Henry Golding, host and fitness entrepreneur Liv Lo bravely opened up about her heartbreaking miscarriage in early 2020. In the tenth week of her pregnancy, she received the devastating news that her baby did not have a heartbeat.

Compounded by the fact that Henry was filming in Tokyo at the time, Liv expressed the emotional trauma of having to wait a week before they could be together to support each other. In a heartfelt blog post, she wrote, “All I needed was a big hug after the procedure, but having to wait a week to travel across the world to catch up to each other was pretty traumatic for me.”

The couple is now expecting their second child.

Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann, 45, who is best known for her roles in films such as Wet Season (2019) and Ilo Ilo (2013), got candid about suffering from postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter Vera in 2012. In an episode of Quan Yi Fong’s podcast Hear U Out in 2021, the actress revealed that she had realised she needed help after thinking of ending her life after an argument with her husband, Hong Kong action director Ma Yuk Sing. “None of my friends knew about my depression because I felt like nobody would be able to help me,” she added.

After talking to friends and asking for help, she consulted a doctor and began taking traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and going for jogs on her own to improve her mental state.

Motherhood doesn’t come with a manual and for most mums, especially new mothers, it’s a time of uncertainty.

“It’s one of the most confusing and sleep-depriving things you’ll go through,” shares host and yoga instructor Denise Keller. And it gets tougher when trying to understand a baby’s cues when it comes to sleeping and feeding. While she’s often been advised to keep to a routine, what’s worked for her has been going with the baby’s flow, and “not following a routine or being obsessed with apps and charts.”

She also admitted that while she had initially neglected herself, her biggest act of self-care since then had been to reach out for postpartum support.

From how having a kid nearly ended her marriage to feeling isolated as a new mum, the 33-year-old is often honest about prickly topics surrounding motherhood. On how her marriage was affected after the birth of her first child Lily, she shared, “Five weeks after having my firstborn, I felt like I bore sole responsibility in raising this child — and if that was the case, I might as well do it alone. I wanted a divorce, and I was serious about it.”

US comedian Ali Wong has spoken openly about her experiences with pregnancy and parenting in her Netflix specials, Baby Cobra (2016) and Hard Knock Wife (2018).  The 41-year-old shares two daughters with her ex-husband, Justin Hakuta.

For instance, she’s gotten hilariously honest about breastfeeding: “Breastfeeding is this savage ritual that just reminds you that your body is a cafeteria now! It don’t belong to you no more. When my baby girl would get hungry, she’d yank my nipple back and forth like that bear f**king up Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Revenant.’ It’s frightening.”

This article was originally published in Singapore Women's Weekly.