I love pregnancy, I love childbirth and I love children. I love when people treat pregnancy and childbirth as the most natural, normal thing that could have happened, more focused on having a healthy pregnancy and enjoying the phase. Over the years, from being an irritating, intruding niece invading the privacy of a new mom (as embarrassing as it is to reveal it), I've become a strong campaigner of moms-to-be, encouraging them to do all that they wish to do even while they are pregnant and following their instincts and body to decide what to do and what not to do, and encouraging dads-to-be and new dads to be as supportive of their wives as it can get and help them lead a well-deserved healthy, joyful pregnancy, childbirth and of course, stress-free parenting. I've learnt to let a new mom be, understanding her choices and standing by her, without invading her privacy and providing unsolicited advice. As much as I support natural birthing, I've learnt that there are times when a c-sec is unavoidable and you needn't be upset about it, as long as the mother and baby are healthy and fine. I've learnt that an essential c-sec is not the end of the world and you are no less a mother than if you would have given a natural birth. More than anything else, I've learnt to be there and lend a ear to a new mom who is frustrated with all the opinions that she has been getting ever since she became a mom.
Team BBN with Milind Soman
All in all, the concept of pregnancy, birth and motherhood is something that really excites me! Which is why, when I saw a call for volunteers by the Bangalore Birth Network I knew I wanted to be a part of them. I had been thinking about volunteering for an organisation for sometime now but I was still not sure with whom and when this presented itself right in front of me, I knew instantly that this was what I wanted. Needless to say, I was glad when they roped me in as one of the volunteers and in the process, I've met some amazing people and working with the team has been really exciting.
Bangalore Birth Network Sling Library
After I joined, the first event that came our way was the Bangalore Pinkathon 2017. BBN has been partnering with Pinkathon for the last couple of years by bringing in babywearing moms to the Pinkathon. This year, we decided to go a step further and include moms to be as well and raising awareness on 'Gestational Diabetes'. We had a wonderful practice walk on the 8th of January, where a lot of babywearing moms and a couple of pregnant moms too came together for a walk around Cubbon Park and the highlight of it had to be Milind Soman joining us for the walk and assenting for the innumerable selfies and groupfies. We had the Bangalore Birth Network Sling Library booth set up where babywearing enthusiasts and new moms could try out various carriers that could help them in deciding their carrier of choice. It was indeed a fun morning, meeting new people and connecting with them.
A newspaper cutting about the Pinkathon Babywearing Walk
The main Pinkathon event is on 29th of January, and we are reaching out to all moms and moms-to-be to partner with us for the Pinkathon this year. It would be a 3km leisure walk and by supporting this, you would be helping us raise awareness on Gestational Diabetes. Also, you would be able to meet a lot of like-minded people and connecting with them. Rest assured, this is going to be an event you would look back to dearly.
You can sign up here in case you are interested. It would be really great to have you alongside us!
No comments:
Post a Comment