Kerry Washington Explains How She Shoots 'Scandal' While Pregnant

— -- Although Kerry Washington is pregnant, her character on the hit TV series "Scandal" is not.

The actress revealed that in the upcoming season, in which she stars as political fixer Olivia Pope, there have been a lot of adjustments in the wardrobe department.

"There's nothing high-end for professional women who are pregnant, so for the show, we wind up just buying the same clothes," she said in the September issue of InStyle magazine. "We will cut out the front of Armani trousers and put in a pregnancy panel. That's what we do for everything."

Washington and her husband, former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha, 35, are expecting their second child. The couple, who wed in 2013, are already parents to a 2-year-old daughter, Isabelle Amarachi.

The interview, which hits newsstands Aug. 12, is one of the rare times Washington, 39, has spoken candidly about her pregnancy. The Emmy Award-winning actress explained why she prefers to stay largely mum about her private life.

"I think that's where the need for quiet is coming from," she explained. "You arrive at a certain place of achieving and suddenly you feel like your goals are being dictated by other people. Right now, as I get ready for this second baby, it's really about me being in touch with what I want."

It also helps that she can get sound advice from "Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes.

"I consider myself busy, but Shonda has about four of five shows, three kids," Washington said. "She says, 'If you feel like you have just the right amount of help, then you don't have enough.' My therapist said this too. You need a lot of support. No just logistically but emotionally and spiritually."

Leaning on her female colleagues at work shouldn't be surprising. Washington said there's "a misconception of this catty, competitiveness between women. That has not been my experience, particularly in Shondaland."

"My mother is one of seven kids ... so I have a lot of strong women in my family, and I have supportive, beautiful relationships with all of them. I also went to an all-girls school, so I've always believed in the collective power of women," she continued. "Being the one woman in the room should not be seen as a victory.

"If there's only one of us in the room," Washington added, "we're still a token; we don't actually have an empowered voice. If there's two of us, we're still a minority. If there's three ... then we're allowed to have a multiplicity of opinions."