She kicks her feet up, makes herself comfortable on a couch, and smiles a bit distractedly. She’s got baby brain and has been nesting at home.

“I tried to get a little dressed up today for this,” says Gyllenhaal, dressed in loose black pants and a top. “I find that my brain is a little slower pregnant.”

Now, Gyllenhaal is trying to switch from parenting to promotional mode to talk up her new movie, Hysteria, opening Friday. In the story of how the vibrator was created, Gyllenhaal, 34, plays a women’s rights activist in Victorian London. Her character, Charlotte, is pugnacious, demanding and non-conformist, something Gyllenhaal relished playing.

“Charlotte is kind of a fantasy, a woman’s fantasy of a woman. I wish I could be that brave and be that sure of myself.

“There’s a part of her that’s so strident that she misses some subtleties. She’s shut herself off from love, and I haven’t done that. She likes to cause chaos, she wants to shake it up, and that’s always an appealing quality to see in someone.”

Plus, Charlotte was without question ahead of her time, Gyllenhaal says. “The things she says are what we all believe to be the truth: that an orgasm makes a woman feel good.”

Gyllenhaal is taking a break for the summer, to be home with her newborn, her daughter, Ramona, 5, and her husband, actor Peter Sarsgaard. Eventually, she’ll go back to work on HBO’s version of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, playing another deeply passionate woman.

“Denise is such an interesting character. She changes so much. You think she’s one thing and she becomes another thing. She’s so relatable. It’s so cool to play a chef. She’s very sexual, and food and sex are all combined for her.”

She’s also unsure about what it means to have another child, and how the new addition will affect her life.

“I’m curious to see how much I remember about nursing and changing diapers. About all of it. I have no idea how to do it with two. Having children is the most humbling thing you can do.”

And even though Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard live a privileged life in New York City, she struggles with the same questions any working mother faces. Can you do it all? And if so, how?

“Peter was joking with me the other day. He said, ‘How are either of us ever going to work, ever?’ We’ve figured out pretty well how to do it with one. At first we would take her with us. Now she’s in kindergarten and it’s important that she’s settled. I wouldn’t take her out for any old thing.”

Sarsgaard will be directing his first feature film, Born to Run, based on the non-fiction work of Christopher McDougall about Tarahumara Indians.

And yes, his wife would happily sign on.

“He and I work so well together, talking about drafts, about the script, talking about casting. I’d do whatever he wanted. I really enjoy talking with him about projects and helping him think things through.

“Artistically we’re a good combination. I love acting with him. My experience acting with him is on stage, and I love it, but I don’t know how we’ll do that for a long time.

“It means neither of us is home to put the kids to bed.”

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In the film Hysteria, Maggie admits to being a bit embarrassed when it came to watching scenes of women coming to orgasm by the invention of the vibrator in the 1800s; especially she says when she practically did an ‘S&M’ film called Secretary.

However, Mortimer (Hugh Dancy) meets his match in the wildly independent and vivacious Charlotte Dalrymple, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The 34-year-old actress, who recently gave birth to a second baby girl, spoke to The Huffington Post about the film’s message, women’s rights and the kind of sex scenes that resonate. Just like Charlotte, Gyllenhaal is spirited, funny and a delight.

This movie is like Jane Austen with sex toys.
(Laughs) I think that’s what sort of works about it. It’s naturally funny. You have everyone in Victorian England being afraid to show an ankle and then at the same time there are doctors making women [have orgasms] in their offices. The fact that it actually happened is one of those things that’s naturally funny.

I did love that it touched on more serious topics, such as women’s rights.
The way I’ve been thinking about this is, it’s a romantic comedy; there’s lightness about it, there’s a clever pleasure about watching it. Can it hold a really heavy political agenda? No, but it can hold something.

Do you find it depressing that the movie talks about women’s rights over their bodies and over 100 years later we’re still talking about that?
I’m very involved in Planned Parenthood. I’m shocked at how politicized women’s rights over their bodies have become, particularly in this election again, more than 100 years later.

I went to an event a few months ago and usually I try not to talk to the paparazzi magazines. I feel like it’s the only power I have over them. I was doing some interviews and somebody asked me what I thought about Gaddafi and I looked down at the ground and saw they were from Hollywood Gossip Life or something like that and I thought, “You know what? I don’t want to talk about this here because it’s the wrong place.” The substance of what I think about, that is not going to be printed. But one thing I can say — that you can say to anybody and that anybody can get — is that women should have rights over their bodies. I can say it to anybody; I don’t care who hears it or how they write it. It’s not a political issue, as far as I’m concerned.

You seem to do quality projects. Do you ever get offered schlock?
I don’t know if they [don't] offer it to me because they think I won’t be interested or they’re not interested (Laughs). Sometimes, yes, I read things and think, “This is terrible, I couldn’t possibly do this.” I guess maybe because of the recession a lot of the big movie studios have been making movies not about anything and I’m not so interested in that and to be honest, they don’t seem to be so interested in me.

Charlotte is such a great role. She’s not just the “girlfriend” role.
It’s true that she’s the heart, the life. I think what was the most fun about it and the reason I decided to do the movie was I thought it doesn’t really serve this movie to have a really historically accurate portrayal of a Victorian suffragette; it’s not the point of this movie. The politics that Charlotte gets to talk about are extremely simple, expressed in a very simple way and I thought the way to make the movie better and make her more interesting is to have her be as wild as possible, like she could be from another planet. She just has to be so full of life that she’s going to burst. I thought that would be fun to try to do.

The movie opens with a montage of women having orgasms. Aren’t you glad you didn’t have to do that?
No, I didn’t have to do any vibrator stuff and wasn’t around when it was filmed, so I was surprised when I saw the film. I loved being surprised by the response of the audience. Everyone was kind of flushed or a little hysterical. We’re not used to, me included, seeing women have orgasms and use vibrators.

That’s what I’m interested in. I think the film is a really interesting way to explore the realities of sex from a woman’s point of view and if you can do that — when I’ve done it and when I’ve seen it — I think it’s so much more erotic than the kind of, “put on a Victoria’s Secret black demi-bra, be lit perfectly and arch your back” way. I mean that will do something for some people, but it’s not the same as watching a sex scene where you go, “Wow, these people are communicating and they’re actually having sex that reminds me of the way that I have sex.”

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Is it hard to balance work and motherhood?

“That’s constantly on my mind. When do I sacrifice? When do I ask the child to sacrifice? It’s really hard. I haven’t done that perfectly. I don’t think you really can. Peter said to me the other day, ‘How are either of us ever going to work?’ We haven’t quite figured out how this is going to work, but we will.”

Will you have more kids?

“I don’t know. I think I’ll start with two and see how it goes.”

Do you have a mom’s group in Brooklyn, where you live?

“Most of my girlfriends now have kids. I was pretty young when I had Ramona [28]. I was the first of most of my friends and now all of them have lapped me. I think for me this was the way to do it. We’ll see how it goes.”

Your new movie – about the invention of the vibrator – is a quirky choice. What attracted you to the movie?

“I was curious how that could make for a movie. Honestly, the script was really excellent. The movie was very much like it, quick-witted and well-crafted. And I really like [her character]. She’s a whirlwind. I thought the thing to do with her was to let her be from another planet, as wild as possible.”

You’ve filmed an HBO pilot based on Jonathan Franzen’s best seller The Corrections. Did you read it before?

“I am a book reader, [but] I didn’t read it until they asked me to. I have a hard time reading anything that isn’t fiction, including the news. It’s easier for me sometimes to listen to it.”

Do you have a pile of books next to your bed that you try to get through?

“I’ve been finishing all of them for some reason. Pregnant, I’ve just been reading so much. Usually, I have one book I’m slogging through. You know what it was? Peter was away shooting a movie in L.A. He would come back and forth, but I would have a lot of my nights free because I’d be too tired to go out and meet a friend, but not tired enough to go to sleep at 8 o’clock. So I’d do a lot of reading.”

Are you reading them in book form or do you have an iPad or book reader?

“I have an iPad that I read on, but if I’m not traveling, I really prefer reading in the real book form. I feel like I’m looking at my phone all day.”

Are you a TV watcher?

“Peter and I both got into Enlightened. I love Laura Dern and the weird mix of people on that show. You know what else I love? Downton Abbey. I’m obsessed.”

Do you have hidden talents?

“I make really good salad dressing. Lemon, vinegar, salt and pepper. I think I’ve really mastered it.”

Is this the life you had planned when you were younger and imagining your future?

“So much when you’re growing up of what you imagine really is fantasy. So much about getting older and living your life is about finding the reality inside that’s very, very different than the fantasy.”

Does your brother [actor Jake Gyllenhaal] feel like he should be [having kids]?

“You have to ask him. He was pretty young [24] when I started. I had Ramona when I was 28, I liked that actually, although there was so much I didn’t know which I guess is true whenever you do it.”

Are you committed to raising your family in New York?

“I’ve been here since I was 17. [She was born in New York but raised in Los Angeles.] And I came to college here [she has a bachelor’s in English from Columbia University]. I lived in such a different way then, and I thought I’d be here forever, and anybody who left was wimping out. But now I think, ‘Wow, what a different life we could have if we lived in Northern California or anywhere. I dream about living in Paris. But now our daughter’s in school, happy, really got a life. I wouldn’t say I’ve found our home that we’re going to be in forever; we’re still figuring it out.”

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“Everyday there’s crazy cravings. Less so this one than the last pregnancy,” Peter shared with OK!. “The last pregnancy was more craving oriented, but we went for dinner before coming here and she has not been into eating meat. So — it’s been recommended for the iron — we ordered it and we both just looked at it because I don’t eat a lot of meat either. So we just sort of sat there and stared at it, thought about it.”

While Maggie and Peter may not be adjusting to the idea of eating meat, their daughter seems to be adjusting just fine to being a big sister. Peter just hopes that it lasts!

“I think at this point she doesn’t know what she’s in for. It all sounds good,” he explained to OK!. “The thing is, I’ve seen kids with siblings. I don’t have any siblings so I don’t know. They kind of generally go for about five minutes, they go, ‘Oh, cool! Anyway, what do we do now?’ I think it gets kind of boring quickly at first. It takes a while for kids to bond.”

So, do Maggie and Peter know the gender of the baby?

“We do, but we’re not sharing,” Peter said and added that they have’t picked out a name yet. But they have a few picked out!

“I always think it’s nice to have… I think that there were two, maybe, or three [names picked out] for Ramona, like the week before. Then it’s not so bad to have an optional one, and when they’re born you kind of look at them and you go, ‘You are a…’ (snaps fingers). And then if another one occurs to you, you might pick that one, but it’s nice to have a lot of planning going into it.”

“And also, as pregnancies go, you sort of start using the names, you try a couple of different ones. Maybe for a month, you might say one name for a while. It’s the nice thing about knowing the gender of the child, you don’t have to call it ‘it.’ Which gets to be really weird after it’s like seven months in there. So we’ve been trying out a few names, but nothing solid.”

Well, we’re sure they’ll pick out a good one when the time comes!

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My mother was very politically active and taught both my brother and me that it is everyone’s responsibility as a citizen and as a person in the world to fight for what you believe in. And what I believe very strongly is that every woman has the right to decide what she can do with her body.

That seems like a no-brainer to me, but it’s not to some politicians; they’re working to restrict women’s access to reproductive health services—things like cancer screenings, birth control and abortion care. With jobs bills waiting on legislative calendars, the unemployment rate at a crisis level and many Americans losing their homes, I find it incredibly frustrating that we’re being forced to spend so much time and energy (and, yes, money) defending something as basic as self-determination.

The assaults on women’s health care have been fast and furious. Over 80 abortion restrictions were enacted in 2011—more than double the previous record, in 2005. But it’s not just abortion that’s under fire. Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry dramatically cut funding that would have provided many low-income women with cervical cancer screenings, birth control and STD prevention and treatment. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey slashed $7.5 million from his state’s budget meant for family planning centers that provide birth control and Pap tests. And there are dozens more examples all over the country. (You can visit Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s womenarewatching.org to see where some 2012 candidates stand on these issues.)

Many of these attacks are designed to shut down one provider: Planned Parenthood, the only health care provider to have been targeted by name in recent federal legislation. Restricting access to the services Planned Parenthood provides would affect millions of women—one in five American women turns to a Planned Parenthood health center at some point in her life. And more than 90 percent of these centers’ services are in preventive care; 3 percent are in abortion care.

I find these restrictions dismaying because they disproportionately target women with lower incomes. Wealthy women will always be able to access the health care they need. Planned Parenthood is there for every woman. This is an organization that works in communities to provide high-quality care like cervical cancer screenings, breast exams, HIV tests and birth control—often to women who would otherwise go without. It is the place you call if you are 16 and don’t know whom to ask about birth control. It’s the website that has answers in the middle of the night. It’s the health care resource that offers compassion and respect to women at times when they are incredibly vulnerable and afraid.

I’ve been a Planned Parenthood supporter my whole life—since my mom took me to a rally when I was in sixth grade. It’s chilling to think of this resource being taken away. I have a five-year-old daughter, and I’m pregnant with my second child. I know when my children are older, I will be taking them to events like the one I went to with my mom. I hope we’ll be celebrating our freedoms and rights, not fighting for them once again as we are now.

Oscar-nominated Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in next month’s Won’t Back Down.

The stunning star admits that although she always tries her hardest to look good on the red carpet, there are going to be inevitable slip-ups. Maggie has revealed that hunting for lots of glamorous gowns can be tricky.

“For the premiere of Hysteria in Toronto a few months ago, I was pregnant but no-one knew. I also had flu and my dress didn’t fit well as the zip was broken,” she told the French edition of Elle. “The day after, I had a look on the internet and saw so many terrible comments! But this is the life of an actress, you have good days and bad days, and when you are promoting a movie and we have to find 15 different dresses per week, yes, one of them might be less perfect than the others.”

Maggie recently announced that she is expecting her second child with her husband Peter Sarsgaard. The actress has confessed that it is difficult to find time to exercise while she is working and caring for her five-year-old daughter, Ramona.

“Honestly, I don’t know how mothers who are working find time to go do exercise. I can’t be a wife, a mother, an actress and run every day,” she shrugged.

“So, I have to admit that I find it easier to forget to run than to cook dinner for my daughter.”

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