New mommy Pankhuri Awasthy urges people to let go of breastfeeding stigmas: It’s the most essential part of motherhood journey

Actor Pankhuri Awasthy opens up about her motherhood journey, and the stigmas she would like to see people shun away

It’s not been even a month since Pankhuri Awasthy became a mother to twins, and she is already learning a new thing every single day. But, one ting that perplexes her is the existence of stigmas around breastfeeding, and the pressure new mums have to face.

Pankhuri Awasthy gave birth to twins last month

“As a new mother, there are so many things that you are anyway dealing with because you suddenly step into a new world, and breastfeeding is the most essential part of your motherhood journey. We, as a society, have become more accepting of a lot of things, and I don’t think breastfeeding should be any different,” asserts the actor.

Like many other celebrity mums, Awasthy, too, asserts that it should be a personal choice whether a woman wants to feed her child in public or private.

“If you’re comfortable (feeding in public), nobody should have any objections. Earlier, women were told to go inside or face the wall to feed. But what do you do if you are travelling? Would you deprive the child of the milk?” questions the 32-year-old.

While she hasn’t experienced such stigmas through people around her, she admits having seen her friends conforming to these norms all through her life.

“I’m just getting a hang of it. Having two kids to look after is a challenge. You can’t expect them to wake up or feel hungry at the same time. I’m definitely having a hard time understanding what to do about it. I am glad I have my family and my husband (Gautam Rode; actor) with me. A new world takes over suddenly and you get overwhelmed with a lot of things. And then to add to it all the stigmas,” she continues, “I’ve been around people who deal with it. Now, I hope people understand that it’s so overwhelming exploring parenthood and not to create unnecessary ideas around breastfeeding.”

Reflecting on the kind of challenges new mums face, she highlights, “There’s a lot of stigma around mothers feeling guilty if they are unable to give breast milk to their kids. But there’s no harm in that because you’re also going through a lot of changes in your body.”

Furthermore, Awasthy rues when people attach a sexual connotation to breastfeeding. “I find it extremely strange. We all have been brought up the same way. They have also done it. It is just stupid to even think like that. It is important to do away with all the stigmas around breastfeeding and delivery,” she ends.