Giving birth. It’s not easy for any of us. Yeah, yeah. The movies make it look all magical. But, it’s not exactly filled with angel kisses and rainbows. Right? Sorry, but it’s painful and messy. Oh so messy. Hey mama, you’re pushing an entire other human being out of your hoo-ha. That’s not exactly a day at the spa.

Giving birth isn’t always the only um, challenging, part. The childbirth process can tear, tug, rip and generally decimate our bodies. Sure, we were ‘built’ to birth babies. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s free from all suffering – for everyone. Yep. Celebs too!

Celebrities are just like us. They waddle off to their jobs every day, fitting their pregnant bellies behind the torturous device that once was a cubicle-sized desk. They wear their S.O.’s sweats instead of splurging on a full-scale wardrobe of maternity clothes. And, they take months (or more) to lose the baby weight. And, by that time they’re preggo again. Um, wait. No. None of that describes a celeb pregnancy. That’s just for us regular ol’ folks.

Even though they might get tens of thousands of IG likes when they post bump pictures. They might have a super-stylish maternity wardrobe that costs more than your mortgage (and that’s the whole thing, not your monthly payment). And, they might seem to snap back into pre-baby size 0 shape within weeks of the big birth day. But, they also go through some pretty tough times too.

From physical pain to emotional anguish, these celebs seriously suffered after giving birth.

15 Kelly Rowland

The former Destiny’s Child singer dished all on a post-baby book. “Whoa, Baby! A Guide for New Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed and Freaked Out (And Wonder What the #*$& Just Happened)” may be a long title, but it totally describes what women want to know. Co-written with OBGYN Dr. Tristan Bickman, Rowland tackles tricky subjects such as tearing and incontinence.

Yeah, you might think pregnancy and childbirth are easy for those star-studded celebs who have it all. But, Rowlands proves that the paparazzi-worthy suffer too. The singer got real (really, really real) and wrote about some of the more unpleasant after-effects of giving birth. In an interview with USA Today she said, “Your vajayjay does not look the same for a very long time.” Sure, the swelling and weirdness does eventually go away. But, Rowland acknowledged that she wasn’t exactly thrilled with the way she looked. And, then there’s the rest of her post-baby bod. The slim singer also admitted to not being 100% in live with her after-delivery figure. And that’s pretty much how the rest of us feel too! Um, about ourselves. We still think Rowland looks amazingly awesome.

14 Hayden Panettiere

Postpartum depression effects between 10 to 15% of new mamas, according to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health. While some moms experience what’s known as the “baby blues,” other have a much more serious version of post-delivery depression. Postpartum depression (PPD) can make living daily life a challenge. New moms with this condition often feel restless, anxious, sad and may even want to hurt themselves.

Following the birth of her daughter Kaya, the “Nashville” star suffered from PPD. Instead of hiding her experience, the actress opened up and shared her story very publically. Why? Well, given that she has a public platform to talk about it, the celeb found that she was able to help other women. Not only did Panettiere go through PPD herself, but her “Nashville” character did as well. Bringing this challenging disorder to the forefront takes away some of the stigma and can hopefully help other new moms to understand that it’s real and something that requires treatment.

13 Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey certainly lives a charmed life. The hardworking celeb is a superstar who looks like she has it all. And, she kind of does. After all, who wouldn’t want to live her life? But, that doesn’t mean her pregnancy or post-childbirth recovery was a breeze. Even celebs like Carey suffer too.

While pregnant with twins Moroccan and Monroe, Carey went through plenty of struggles. As if being pregnant isn’t tough enough, carrying twins makes things just that much harder. There’s more discomfort, more challenges and more potential problems. Carey’s age (she was 40 at the time of conception) only added to the high-risk nature of the pregnancy.

By the end of her pregnancy Carey had been diagnosed with both gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. After giving birth via C-section, Carey had a not-so-easy road in front of her. Recovery wasn’t easy, but the celeb came through it with flying colors. Yes, she suffered during and after pregnancy and childbirth. But, she now has two beautiful, healthy kiddos to show for her struggle.

12 Bryce Dallas Howard

When Bryce Dallas Howard gave birth she decided to go the natural way. Completely natural. The celebrity mom went for it in a completely unmediated way – and at home. That is until complications crept in, forcing her to finally give birth at the hospital. But, that’s not where the star’s struggles ended.

She struggled, like many new moms do, with breastfeeding and was in pain. Along with the physical issues going on, the actress wasn’t really feeling the way she thought a new mama should. Instead of pure happiness, she felt numb. Her post-pregnancy days were filled with sadness, helplessness and plenty of other symptoms of PPD. After finally seeking help, she was diagnosed with the disorder. After time and many daily struggles, the actress eventually emerged from her depression. She noted, on the website Goop, “Postpartum depression is hard to describe—the way the body and mind and spirit fracture and crumble in the wake of what most believe should be a celebratory time.”

Like other celebs who have shared their PPD stories, Bryce Dallas Howard’s is another very public tale that can hopefully help the many, many mamas who are going through the same serious struggles.

11 Brooke Burke-Charvet

The TV personality is well-known for her many hosting gigs (including Dancing with the Stars). She’s also a fairly familiar endorsement face. The model/actress/host is more than just a celebrity – she’s a mom to four! All of those pregnancies took a toll on the beauty’s body, leaving her with LBL. What’s that? Well, if you’ve seen any of her recent commercials, you know exactly what we’re talking about.

LBL, or light bladder leakage, is a completely common post-pregnancy problem. As the muscles of the pelvic floor get a major workout in during L&D they stretch and weaken. Couple that with the nerve damage that can happen as the baby makes its way out, and you’ve got a recipe for LBL. Come on mamas, you know what we mean. You sneeze, you cough deeply or you have a good ol’ belly laugh and it happens – you pee a little.

As the spokesperson for a line of LBL products, Burke-Charvet has been extremely open about the issues she’s had with this post-pregnancy mommy-problem.

10 Mira Sorvino

The mom of four, and well-known actress, has had her fair share of childbirth-related struggles. Even though three out of four of her pregnancies weren’t exactly filled with suffering, her third birth experience was far from serene.

At age 41 Sorvino was pregnant for the third time and facing a frightening pregnancy problem. The actress developed placenta previa, a condition where the placenta completely or partially covers the cervix. The condition can cause the placenta to separate from the uterine wall as dilation happens and can result in major bleeding.

Sorvino, like plenty of other non-celeb moms with the condition, had to be hospitalized. After being put on bed rest the actress then developed a blood clot. The treatment for the clot was ant-coagulation therapy, which was used to prevent a possible embolism. If the clot were to break free it could travel elsewhere in the body and cause major damage or even death. Even though Sorvino had to face this ordeal, she made it through okay (and so did her baby boy). Of course, that was following a lengthy delivery in some serious recovery.

9 Camila Alves

The model beauty may have superstar good looks, but she didn’t have a superstar pregnancy. The celeb revealed that she struggled with pretty serious pain throughout her third pregnancy. On top of that, the pain didn’t end after giving birth. The model mommy had two fairly normal pregnancies. But, baby number three was very different.

Alves had strong mystery pains during her pregnancy. Even though what she was feeling definitely wasn’t normal, the docs couldn’t pinpoint a reason for her aches. Eventually the doctors, still unable to provide the model and her husband (actor Matthew McConaughey) with a concrete diagnosis, recommended a C-section.

During the C-section Alves noted that the doctors found several things wrong. That said, she did not go into specifics publicly. While the mom remained mum about the gory details, she did say that the pain continued and she’s suffered after the C-section. Along with the cesarean, Alves had to have several other procedures (which she hasn’t made public either), resulting in an extra-challenging recovery.

8 Kate Hudson

The super-slim actress may have her own athletic-wear line, but that doesn’t mean she snapped back into shape immediately after delivering. Hudson’s fab physique ballooned out when she gained 70 pounds during her pregnancy. Hey, that happens. Even to the most fit mamas. Now imagine adding on the pressures to be a sub-size 0 in Hollywood, and you can see how Hudson suffered following childbirth.

Some women can melt those baby pounds away in what seems like five minutes flat – especially in Hollywood. But, Kate wasn’t one of those magical mamas. She worked at the weight loss, but plateaued at 150 pounds. Obviously, based on her current state of fitness, the actress eventually lost the rest of her baby poundage. That doesn’t mean it came without a struggle or some serious mental suffering. Gradually Hudson was able to lose the baby weight and get back into stellar shape.

7 Chrissy Teigen

On the outside it might seem like Chrissy Teigen has everything anyone could ever want. She’s beautiful, has a career many of us would envy and she’s married to John Legend. Who wouldn’t want any of those things?

When Teigen gave birth to daughter Luna it seemed like her already perfect life got even better. Which it did. But, she was also suffering. From what? Postpartum depression.

Teigen admits that her pregnancy and delivery were pretty amazing. It’s what happened after the whole childbirth thing that wasn’t so special. The new mama went back to work, and found herself bursting into tears. She blamed her unhappiness on being tired. At least, at first. She started staying in, except when she had to work. Teigen also started feeling mystery back pains. These were bad enough to send her to the doctor, in search of some relief. The doctors poked and prodded, thinking she might have rheumatoid arthritis. Then finally she got the diagnosis – PPD and anxiety.

After her diagnosis, Teigen says she has good days and bad days. She didn’t come out publicly with her problems until after she knew she had PPD. Like other celeb mamas with PPD, her story might just help other mothers who are suffering to get the treatment that they need.

6 Kate Winslet

Okay, so Kate Winslet’s post-pregnancy suffering wasn’t exactly the physical kind. Her suffering had to do with the media’s take on what a post-baby bod should be. Obviously, every celeb should snap back into picture-perfect shape within weeks (if not hours) of giving birth. Winslet’s not-so-typical for Hollywood figure has never been seen as stick thin. And, that’s okay. Hey, that’s more than okay.

When Winslet gave birth to her third child she became media fodder. Why? Her after-childbirth figure wasn’t suddenly slim. The star admits that she really didn’t diet after her third baby’s birth. She’s been outspoken about the unfair expectation that women get back into shape immediately after having baby. Instead of killing herself to be stickly again, Winslet focused on her children – and not her dress size.

Yeah, yeah, celebs like Winslet have plenty of advantages. But, the media’s hyper-high expectations can set them apart and make them suffer in ways that us regular folk just don’t have to deal with.

5 Molly Sims

She’s a model mommy who has had to deal with plenty of public body scrutiny. When Sims gained 65 pounds during her first pregnancy, the media certainly made a point of showing just how big she was getting. The former SI swimsuit model has always been seen as long and lean. So, when she packed on the pounds just about everyone took notice. Um, wait. Isn’t that normal – to gain weight doing pregnancy? Well, yeah.

The average expected weight gain during pregnancy is anywhere from 15 to 40 pounds, depending on where you start. Women starting out as underweight (with a BMI less than 18.5) should expect to gain more, while overweight women typically need to gain less. Women who started out with an ‘average’ weight (a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9) should gain between 25 and 35 pounds.

So, why did Sims gain so much weight? She said, on her website, that she gained 25 of those pounds in the last trimester alone. After giving birth she tried and tried and tried and tried to lose that baby weight. But, nothing worked. For months she suffered, trying to lose the weight and seeing no results. That’s when she finally went to see her doctor. An ultrasound revealed that her thyroid was enlarged and had irregular growths. Luckily for Sims, the growths were benign. Even though she didn’t have cancer, her enlarged thyroid was causing the post-baby weight to stay on. After being put on medication Sims was able to lose the weight and feel more like herself again!

4 Gena Lee Nolin

She’s probably best known as a Baywatch babe. The actress was all about looking good in that tiny red swimsuit. But, after giving birth to her son in 1997, the former Playboy cover girl started gaining weight. Not only was she getting heavier, but she started having other strange symptoms. Her once-lush hair was dry and brittle, and the actress began feeling depressed.

Doctors initially diagnosed her with PPD, giving her meds to fight off the depression. That didn’t stop Nolin from developing more symptoms. Eventually, after years of suffering, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease. The condition causes the immune system to start attacking and destroying the thyroid gland. The result is hypothyroidism, which causes weight gain, tiredness and depression.

Nolin’s correct diagnosis didn’t happen until 2008, which was months after giving birth to her third child. That’s right, the beauty had suffered through pregnancy after pregnancy. Her post-delivery weight loss was difficult, if not impossible, and she developed a set of progressively worse symptoms. Now that the former model turned actress knows what she’s got, she (and her doctors) are able to treat it.

3 Lisa Rinna

The actress and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reality star is known for several things. Let’s see, there are her bee-stung lips. Then there’s the epic romance she shares with her actor husband Harry Hamlin. And, of course, all of the Real Housewives’ cat fights. But, then there’s the more serious side of Rinna.

For months after giving birth to her first daughter Rinna hid her depression. Her self-esteem had taken a dive and the actress felt hopeless. As if the challenge of PPD wasn’t enough for her, Rinna also was dealing with a sense of shame. So, she kept quiet. Finally, 10 months after giving birth she confided in her husband.

Even though Rinna did tell her hubby about the PPD symptoms, she didn’t make her suffering into a media story. Eventually she did go public with her problem, hoping that sharing her tale would help other moms to get through postpartum depression too.

2 Gwyneth Paltrow

Paltrow had high hopes for her second child’s birth. Her first go-around with pregnancy and parenting was stellar. And, she fully expected to feel that super-sized sense of glee when she gave birth to son Moses in 2006. But, that’s not what happened.

The actress describes the five months after giving birth as, “one of the darkest and most painfully debilitating chapters of my life,” on her website Goop. Like many other moms, Paltrow was dealing with PPD. Also like other moms with the disorder, she didn’t realize it. She knew something was wrong, feeling like she couldn’t connect with her emotions.

The emotion-less, inability to connect is a common symptom of postpartum depression. Paltrow described her experience as lasting months. Unlike the baby blues, which as transient and only last for days or weeks postpartum, true PPD is more of a long-term situation.

1 Tori Spelling

Each pregnancy is different. And, Tori Spelling knows that for sure. Her fourth pregnancy was far from easy. This super-mama conceived son Finn almost immediately after giving birth to daughter Hattie. We all know how challenging it can be to care for a newborn. Now add in being pregnant, and you can multiple the possible problems. Even celebs, like Spelling, feel the ultimate exhaustion in being a new mom – even if it’s not the first time being a new mom. Then there are the crazy-tired feelings that go along with being pregnant. Add them together and you’ve got a recipe for some serious suffering.

Along with being pregnant and parenting, Spelling was diagnosed with placenta previa 20 weeks in. She spent more than two months in the hospital and then spent four months on bedrest. The actress finally gave birth to baby Finn via C-section. But, her pregnancy problems didn’t end there. Three weeks after delivering Spelling was rushed into emergency surgery after her C-section scars reopened.

Sources: USA Today, Goop, Womenshealth.gov, MollySims.com, American Pregnancy Association