'So much power': America Ferrera gets real about pregnancy and motherhood

America Ferrera might be new to motherhood, but it sounds like she's got the whole thing nailed already.

Pregnancy and the experience of becoming a mum for the first time is completely life-changing

The 34-year-old opened up about how her life has altered since welcoming her first child, son Sebastian, in May. 

She said, ''every step of the way, everybody tells you what it's going to be like and how you're going to feel.''

She continued, "I really think that is so harmful to so many of us. I decided early on that I wasn't going to expect my experience to be what other people told me it would be like - good or bad."

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#AmericaFerrera has accomplished a lot—but if you think our December issue is going to be a story about how a busy modern woman finds balance, you’re wrong. (Because focusing on how she juggles it all instead of her amazing work would be reductive.) “I’ve always felt a very strong sense of right and wrong, of justice,” she says on standing up for her beliefs. . Even the 34-year-old’s acting roles are centered around telling stories that aren’t often told: “I wouldn’t have a platform if I wasn’t representative of so many people who wanted to see themselves,” she said. “My career started with Real Women Have Curves. Then Ugly Betty and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” she continues. “These are all characters and worlds that had never been really seen and respected on-screen before. That’s what gave me my platform. So for me, it’s not separate from my career. I think we all have a responsibility, to a degree, to be thoughtful about the things we do and the things we create and the impact that those things have on the world.” . Link in bio for full interview! (: @taomeitao)

A post shared by Health (@healthmagazine) on Nov 6, 2018 at 6:05am PST

The good is being pregnant - ''I felt really powerful and healthy. You create life. I found so much power in that." 

The actor, who has been married to husband, husband director Ryan Williams, for seven years, discussed breastfeeding Baz, as he affectionately calls her son. 

She explained, ''in terms of my relationship to my body, I'm still breastfeeding, so it's still very much in service of my son. There are parts of it that I love and also parts of it that are super challenging. I'm just now starting to feel like I want to feel strong in my body again."

While she still likes to keep fit since having a baby, America has decided to go a bit easier on herself. 

She said, "I think that's been one of the mantras for me in all of motherhood - to try and not be so hard on myself. Which is a challenge because, like so many women, I demand so much more of myself than I would ever demand of someone else."

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where my DREAMERS at!? To me, Health - physical, spiritual, emotional- is about showing up for myself and for others in the big ways and small. Show up today for yourself and for your world. Vote. Thank you @healthmagazine for letting my dreamer shine in this beautiful spread and the great conversation with @bethanyheitman Photographer @taomeitao Stylist @ecduzit Hair @hairbyaviva Makeup @sagemaitri Read the full article at Health.com

A post shared by America Ferrera (@americaferrera) on Nov 6, 2018 at 1:14pm PST

So how has her relationship with her husband changed in the wake of parenthood? 

"For so long, it's been just the two of us, and we've had an amazing life together. I don't know that either one of us could anticipate how much we love him and how it makes everything new again. We've travelled to many wonderful places, and we've seen many things - and just getting to imagine that somewhere down the line everything that we've already done and seen, Baz will be seeing for the first time...it's amazing.'' 

It seems that America's whole life has taken on a new perspective, which a lot of new mums can relate to.