Freida Pinto on What She's Learned from Her Pregnancy: 'You Can't Control Everything'

Freida Pinto has done her planning for motherhood, but she's also aware not everything will go as expected.

"I feel confident in the plan that I have. We can plan as much as we want and then there has to be a small element of letting go of control as well," the pregnant actress tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

"This is where the excitement comes from: When you've prepared and planned for such a long time, now you want to test it out and see how it goes," Pinto says.

The Slumdog Millionaire actress, 37, announced in June that she is expecting a child with photographer Cory Tran. So far in her pregnancy, Pinto says there have been "a ton of surprises."

"Lots of losing-my-mind kind of moments, and then lots of beautiful moments, as well," says the mom-to-be. "It's been a rollercoaster, but a good one. If I've learned something through pregnancy, it is that it's a fantastic preparation for learning to let go of a little bit of control entering into motherhood. You can't control everything. You can make all the plans in the world and you just have to be open and ready for what has to happen."

Teaming up with Anya for the launch of the company, which is dedicated to supporting new moms before, during and after the postpartum period, Pinto is helping other women entering this stage of life feel more secure and confident.

"With Anya, there's such a deep understanding," says Pinto, who is the brand's chief impact officer. "A woman can't do this alone. She can't do this in a vacuum, either. So the space that they have actually filled in is bringing in all of these experts and letting them help women understand where it is and what it is that they are really needing in their postpartum period."

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Last month, the Intrusion star revealed that she and Tran eloped last year, tying the knot during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pinto tells PEOPLE that her husband's support throughout the pregnancy experience has been "priceless."

"Cory is one of those men who's constantly asking me questions and asking me to explain things — and listening — and being a good partner just at that. That support is priceless because men really have to try in a very different way to understand what their partners are going through," she shares. "I feel very, very lucky to have the support of Cory through this all."

As for what kind of parents they want to be, Pinto explains, "I feel like we both have our ideas on parenting and they gel well together. We are the kind of people who want our kid to be someone who has independence in their life, but also at the same time we don't want to mollycoddle the kid. We want the kid to have independence. We'll see how that goes!"

For more on how Freida Pinto is preparing for motherhood, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.