Reese Witherspoon explains why women shouldn’t ‘put off’ having kids in candid video

Reese Witherspoon has opened up about motherhood in a candid video in which she encouraged people who might want to have kids not to put it off.

The Legally Blonde star addressed the topic of being a mom in a video shared to her 'Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine' YouTube channel, where she explained that she got pregnant with her eldest child, 26-year-old Ava Elizabeth Phillippe, when she was 22 years old.

Witherspoon has since gone on to welcome two other kids, Deacon Reese Phillippe and Tennessee James Toth, who are 22 and 13 years old, respectively. The actor shares her eldest two children with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and her youngest with ex-husband Jim Toth.

Tennessee was born when Witherspoon was 37, which she said was 'so much harder' than when she had her first at 23, since looking after a small child is 'really hard on your body'.

In her video, Witherspoon - who has also been incredibly candid this year about getting out of an abusive relationship - acknowledged that having children will change your 'entire life', and with that in mind she made clear she supports people who don't want to have kids.

Reese Witherspoon welcomed her first daughter when she was 23 (Instagram/@reesewitherspoon)

"You have to do [it] when it's right for you, if that's something you want," she said. "Totally fine if you don't want kids - I love it when people make that decision because they're being so honest and so much of society doesn't accept the idea that there's just different ways to do things.

"If you don't want to be a mom that's totally fine, I have a lot of friends who aren't moms and they are so happy because they've chosen the life that's best for themselves."

Speaking as a mom herself, though, Witherspoon encouraged anyone who wanted to have children to do so as soon as they're ready.

"If you want to be a mom and that's important to you, you should have every right to do that and don't put it off because of, you know, all the things that seem like a barrier," she said.

Witherspoon assured hopeful future parents that they could do it, even if it seems like an impossible task at the time.

"You're gonna figure it out," she said. "I figured it out, you're gonna figure it out, your mother figured it out, your grandma figured it out.

"There's incredible resources that you can use to help figure it out, and whatever your motherhood journey is, I wish you luck and love and light and success and happiness, because being a mom is really great."

Witherspoon has been praised for her advice, with fans describing her as 'one of most inspiring women' they've ever seen.

"Thank you for your honesty about motherhood. Because it‘s really hard and life-changing. All people should know it!" one fan commented.