New mom Salma Hayek dons beard, fight neonatal tetanus

Salma Hayek signs a poster at the Global Green USA 5th Pre-Oscar Party in Hollywood February 20, 2008.

CHICAGO (Reuters Life!) - Salma Hayek is finally coming to terms with the toughest role she's ever taken on -- becoming a mother.

The Oscar-nominated Mexican actress said returning to acting in the role of a bearded lady in the comedy adventure "Cirque du Freak" was a breeze after taking six months off to look after her first child, daughter Valentina, who was born last September.

"I haven't slept in six months," Hayek said in an interview.

The actress, who regularly features on lists of Hollywood's sexiest or most glamorous women, said she had no qualms about taking on a role that challenged the traditional notions of feminine beauty.

"It's my first work after being away for awhile and being pregnant," she said.

"It's not super, extremely hard work. It's a little bit of hard work. But it's not like I have to be emotionally devastated for months."

The 41-year-old, who is also an executive producer for the ABC TV show "Ugly Betty," was in Chicago this week to kick off a campaign for Procter & Gamble and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to raise money to provide 45 million tetanus shots in the developing world this spring and summer.

Neonatal tetanus kills a baby every three minutes, according to UNICEF, but can be prevented by immunizing pregnant mothers with a vaccine that costs about 5 cents.

Hayek describes her work with UNICEF as "a perfect match because my No. 1 cause has been women and women's rights. And with this particular disease, the way you protect the baby is by protecting the mum because where it happens is in childbirth."

She is not the first celebrity to work with UNICEF, according to Caryl Stern, the chief executive of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

English footballer David Beckham, American actress Mia Farrow and Nigerian singer and musician Femi Kuti are goodwill ambassadors for the group, which works to protect children and foster basic education and gender equality worldwide.

"When you get somebody (like Hayek) who has a podium and says, you know what, I'm going to use that for something worthwhile, we all win," said Stern.