In a recent interview, Pankhuri Awasthy opened up about her breastfeeding journey with her twins and revealed that she is having a hard time.
Television couple, Pankhuri Awasthy and Gautam Rode recently hopped onto their parenthood journey and welcomed their twins, a boy and a girl into their lives on July 25, 2023. Being ecstatic parents, the duo shared various snippets from their lives ever since they announced their pregnancy. And now, as Pankhuri is busy with her mommy duties, she opened up about her breastfeeding journey.
In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Pankhuri Awasthy opened up about being a mother to twins and learning a new thing every single day. Talking about the pressure new mothers have to face, the actress addressed the stigma around breastfeeding and revealed that it often worries her. Pankhuri said:
“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.”
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Elaborating further, Pankhuri Awasthy emphasised that it should be a mother's personal choice if she wants to feed her child in public or not. The 32-year-old actress pointed out that earlier women were asked to feed their kids in private and questioned what will the mothers do when they are travelling. She added:
“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?”
However, Pankhuri added that she hasn’t experienced breastfeeding stigmas in her real life, as people around her are always supportive. But she added that she had seen her friends facing these issues all through her life and revealed that she is having a hard time understanding what to do about breastfeeding her twins together. She was heard saying:
“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 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.”
Reflecting on the challenges that new mothers face, Pankhuri mentioned that exploring parenthood is so overwhelming that people should not create unnecessary ideas around breastfeeding. She further added that new mothers often feel guilty for being unable to give breast milk to their kids and said that there's no harm in it. She stated:
“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. 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.”
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Over the years, we have witnessed a lot of stigma around breastfeeding and one such issue is when people attach a sexual connotation to breastfeeding. Reflecting on the same, Pankhuri mentioned that she finds it extremely strange when people do that. She concluded:
“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.”
What are your views about Pankhuri Awasthy's revelations?
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