Brooke Shields’ husband was ‘really worried’ about their daughter watching her documentary

Brooke Shields had a raw conversation with her eldest daughter, Rowan, about postpartum depression, which the actor experienced as a new mom.

Speaking to Glamour for its "Woman of the Year" issue, she explained how her 2023 documentary "Pretty Baby" upset Rowan — and her husband, Chris Henchy, who felt the topic was too abrupt.

Shields and Henchy share daughters Rowan, 20, and Grier, 17.

In the Hulu documentary and in Shields' 2005 memoir, "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression," the actor opened up about developing the mental health disorder.

Postpartum depression is more severe than traditional "baby blues," according to the Mayo Clinic. While the latter can last two weeks, postpartum depression is stronger, chronic and can develop during pregnancy or one year post-birth.

Symptoms vary from "intense irritability and anger" to believing one is not a good mother, facing fears of being a bad mother or dealing with anxiety or panic attacks.

"I’ve talked to her about it," Shields told Glamour of her conversation with Rowan. "And after the documentary, Chris was really worried, and he was upset with me because he thought I didn’t warn the kids enough.

"I said, 'Rowan, I need to tell you, I never didn’t love you. I was very sick,'" added Shields. "And she goes, 'Mom…' I said, 'And I never wanted to hurt you.' She goes, 'Well, I made it this far.' She said, 'And Mom, I get it.'

"But women need to hear this," Shields continued. "They need to know, because it’s scary."

In her documentary, Shields explained that after a 24-hour labor and an emergency cesarean section, Rowan was born. As those around her celebrated the birth, Shields felt something was wrong.

"They thought it was the baby blues, they all thought, 'All the moms cry' and 'All the moms are exhausted," said Shields in doc. "I just got back to our apartment and I just gave Chris the baby and ... I just went to bed."

Shields said she withdrew from people, including her baby, crying and experiencing intrusive thoughts about her daughter getting hurt.

"What kind of a mother has these thoughts?" said Shields in the documentary. "I'm supposed to want to live, breathe, sleep with her."

Shields believed she was going "truly insane" with fearful thoughts, saying, "Nobody understood me and my husband was just so at a loss," especially after observing how other mothers cared for their babies. Shields said she believed that Rowan didn't need her as a mother.

Eventually, she went to therapy after a doula suggested that Shields had postpartum depression.

"There is a myth around the ease with which birthing a child and falling in love with your child and being maternal naturally to your child that came out of your body (is) and it's really a frightening thing to have the picture look different," Shields said in "Pretty Baby."

Shields told Glamour that, to this day, other mothers thank her for talking about postpartum depression during a time when it felt taboo.

"They go, 'I had it so bad and I didn’t know. And I felt like I was so wrong and my husband didn’t understand and I felt so guilty,'" Shields told the publication. "And the tears, and it’s like, God, I feel for you. Because they carry it with them, and you carry a lot of guilt about it."

In April, Shields shared that her documentary also upset Grier, her youngest daughter. "Pretty Baby" also covers Shields' sexualization as a child star in films like "Pretty Baby (1978) and "The Blue Lagoon (1989) and her sexual assault as a college graduate.

“Grier looked at it as all the things that I kept from her,” Shields said on TODAY. “She was outraged and she was very sad.

"She said, ‘Nothing you say to me, Mom, is going to make it better,’” added Shields. “She said, ‘I hate seeing bad things happen to you.’"

This article was originally published on TODAY.com