Hayden Panettiere Says She's a 'Better Mom' After Postpartum Struggle

— -- “Nashville” star Hayden Panettiere said she’s a “better mom” after her struggle with postpartum depression “because you never take that connection for granted.”

In her first live interview since she tweeted last May that she was seeking treatment a second time for postpartum depression, Panettiere, 27, told “Good Morning America” that “it takes you a while and you feel off. You don’t feel like yourself.”

“But women are so resilient and that’s the incredible thing about them, and I think I’m all the stronger for it,” she added.

The Golden Globe-nominated actress has been incredibly honest about her battle with postpartum depression after the birth of her first child, Kaya. Her character on the hit show "Nashville" struggles with the same issues.

“It absolutely helped me,” she said of playing her country star character. “I think it helped me identify what was going on. And to let women know that it’s OK to ask for help and it’s OK to have a moment of weakness. It doesn’t make you a bad person, doesn’t make you a bad mother. It makes you a very strong, resilient woman. You’ve just got to let it make you stronger.”

Panettiere said she is “feeling fabulous” ahead of the season five premiere of "Nashville," which returns to television tonight on CMT.

“I’m feeling great. I’m so glad to be back playing Juliette,” she said. “Everything she’s been through has been like a hazard sign in the road. She made me stronger. I feel like she’s like a phoenix. She crashes and burns and then she rises from the ashes and she always takes the lesson and becomes stronger for it.”

Last season ended when Juliette's plane went missing. But “obviously, I’m alive,” she joked. “Shocking.”

“She is not in a great place when we first see her, but I tell you, that resiliency,” said Panettiere. “She’s going to go down a road and a path that you’d never expect from Juliette. Open a door you would never, ever expect. And I think you guys are going to like it. You’re going to be surprised.”