Gillian Anderson talks candidly about motherhood

Actress Gillian Anderson opened up about her experiences in motherhood in an recent interview with Evening Standard Magazine. Gillian is the mother is two children, daughter Piper, 12, with ex-husband Clyde Klotz and son Oscar, almost 6 months, with current beau, Mark Griffiths. Gillian suffered from panic attacks and severe anxiety when she was pregnant with Piper. She remembers,

They started at work and then they would happen every day and I felt like I was going mad. After Piper was born, I would nurse her, shaking from anxiety, and then I started having them in the middle of the night, so I would get home from work at one in the morning and then be having one until four. It was hell on earth. If it hadn’t been for my newborn child, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

Her troubles didn’t seem to end there. With her second pregnancy, Gillian went into labor three weeks prematurely, and the baby was in the NICU.

He was 6 lb 8 oz, which is a decent weight. But he had a lot of fluid on his lungs and so he was quite tubed up and was in intensive care, and I couldn’t pick him up. But we got to take him home after a week so we actually were very lucky.

When Oscar was born, Gillian and Mark tried to prepare Piper as much as they could for her new life as a big sister.

No matter how much love, family and everything you give, it’s still a very complicated thing for a child who has been the center of everyone’s attention for such a long time to suddenly feel that they are being usurped. You have to be mindful of everyone’s experience. I don’t think Piper was prepared to love Oscar so much.

Finally, Gillian was candid about the differences between being a Mom the first time around and now the second time around – 12 years apart.

I had to learn to be a mother in 20-minute time slots. I’d come back to the trailer, give full attention and then full attention an hour later for five minutes. It’s been amazing with Oscar because I have the time to spend with him. When Piper was born I was 26 and my working hours were ridiculous. At 38, I feel like I’ve earned motherhood and the right to take it all in and not feel distracted.

Source: Evening Standard Magazine  via Gillian Anderson.net

Thanks to CBB readers Joanne and Sara.