Dannii Minogue was struck with ''health problems'' after giving birth to Ethan.

The 43-year-old singer initially found it difficult to be a proper mother to her four-year-old son when he was welcomed into the world in 2010 because she was battling an undiagnosed ''thyroid problem'' and also had to have her appendix removed.

Speaking to Monty Dimond for Australia's Show and Tell website, she said: ''I was thinner [after having Ethan]. I had some health troubles that were undiagnosed for a while. I was losing weight rapidly. I was so thin, it was so hard to be a mum.''

But, despite the weight dropping off her, the brunette beauty was being complimented on her how well she looked so soon after giving birth, which she found to be quite baffling.

She explained: ''It was interesting to see how important it is to other people to see that you are skinny again.''

The younger sister of Kylie Minogue also opened up about her ''very gentle'' son Ethan and how he is similar to his father Kris Smith, whom Dannii split from in 2012 after four years of dating.

Speaking about her only child - who divides his time between Dannii's home and Kris' home in Australia - the 'X Factor Australia' judge said: ''He's quite sporty from his dad he loves lots of ball games and he's had private golf lessons. He's quite intelligent - he loves languages.''

But the former 'Home and Away' star doesn't think the little one will follow in the footsteps of his famous mother, father and auntie and have a career in the limelight.

She said: ''He's not a performing kid.''