Ask any woman whose ever suffered from it and she’ll tell you that postpartum depression is a major problem. For Days of Our Lives cast member Martha Madison, one particular storyline on the daytime drama gave her an in-depth look into the condition, when her onscreen persona went through it two years ago.



"Playing Belle's postpartum depression after Claire was born was fun for me, because it was different," Madison, who essays the role of Belle Black, told Soap Opera Digest. “Doing that story brought my acting to a new level, too. It was really challenging. It was the first time we had done a postpartum story [on Days of our Lives]. That, in and of itself, was a fun challenge for me. As an actor, I learned a lot, having to play something I had absolutely no idea about or how to play. It's the only time I ever really researched a lot of stuff. I had a lot of homework."

Aside from the challenge that particular storyline provided, it also paved the way for Madison to get some screen time with Days of Our Lives legend, Deidre Hall. The opportunity to act alongside Hall, who plays Madison ’s onscreen mom, Marlena Evans, was both an honor and a daunting task for Madison .

"I didn't work with Deidre for about a year when I first joined the show, because Marlena was presumed dead," Madison explained. “When it came time to do my first scenes with her, not only did I have to play the shock of 'Oh, my God! My mom is alive,' but I also had to do an entire show with Deidre Hall. It was a lot [to deal with]. I was scared to death."

Despite her initial jitters, Madison managed to sail through their scenes together and has since become one of Days of Our Lives’ more popular regulars.