MANILA, Philippines?Claudine Barretto admits she suffered from post-partum depression after giving birth to son Rodrigo Santino on July 19, 2007.

?I kept crying,? she told Inquirer Entertainment. ?I didn?t want to see anyone. All I did, all day, was breast-feed. I thought I was going crazy.?

She sought professional help, and had to take medication. Now she?s talking openly about it for a good reason: ?People should understand that there are ways to deal with postpartum depression. It?s no joke.?

Claudine said recent news accounts of mothers throwing their newborn babies out of cabs and buildings bothered her deeply. ?My husband Raymart (Santiago) and I couldn?t understand [such incidents]. I lost sleep over those stories.?

Orphanage

That she has a soft spot for children is common knowledge. In fact, Claudine said, her biggest dream is to build an orphanage. For the same reason, she and Raymart have taken up ?adoption? as a pet cause.

?We?re also doing it for Sabina (their adopted daughter who just turned 4). People should not treat adopted kids differently.?

Smiling, she recalled, ?When I was a kid, my sisters Gretchen and Marjorie used to tease me, saying I was adopted. Raymart and I have explained to Sabina that she didn?t come from my tummy [but] she was meant for us.?

The Santiagos read storybooks that tackle adoption to Sabina. ??I Love You Like Crazy Cakes? is particularly touching,? Claudine said. ?Raymart cried when he read it to Sabina.?

Home, work

These days, the actress? week is equally divided between home and her new ABS-CBN soap opera, ?Iisa Pa Lamang.?

Before starting work on ?Iisa,? the entire cast had a two-day acting workshop under filmmaker Laurice Guillen who also co-stars in the series.

?I gave them different exercises that helped them relax and bond as a group,? Laurice said.

At the end of the workshop, Claudine reported: ?I had the lowest grade, along with (co-stars) Diether (Ocampo) and Gabby (Concepcion). Our teen co-stars Melissa (Ricks) and Matt (Evans) got high scores.?

Claudine?s competitive streak was sparked. ?I didn?t know we were being graded. I wanted to repeat the sessions so I could improve my performance. I?m like that e.?

Teacher Laurice recounted, ?I noticed that Claudine has set very high standards for herself.?

Claudine told Inquirer that she?s also enrolling in ?a few subjects? online. Last year, she took up Child Psychology at Thomson, a correspondence school. ?Right now, I?m busy with Power Memory.?

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