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Ricki Lake is opening up about her childbirth experience, saying that the process helped her heal the wounds of sexual abuse.

Opening up to People magazine, the former actress and talk show host says she was “sexually abused [around] age six or seven.” Lake added that she felt the abuse was one of the reasons she battled serious weight issues, once weighing as much as 270 pounds.

But giving birth to her children – Milo, 12 and Owen, 7 – helped her to heal and purge the shame that she says she carried for years.

“I was able to look at my body and see what it was able to do and embrace it,” Lake – who just released a book entitled “Your Best Birth,” said. “[I was able to] sort of let go of all the body image issues.”

These days, Lake, 40, says she maintains a steady weight of 140 pounds and leads an active, healthy lifestyle.

“I eat everything I want to eat” she said. “I just don’t eat all of it.”

RELATED: Click here to read more of Lake's interview with People magazine..