Motherhood Has Rights – These Women Make It Loud And Clear

“Off all the rights of a woman, the greatest is to be a Mother” – Lin Yutang

Women have been gifted with a unique power called ‘Motherhood’. When a child takes birth, a mother is born. One cannot agree more that a mother’s instinct plays a vital role in upbringing of a child from the time the baby is in womb. When a mother and her baby are born, a village is expected to stand up in support of her onward journey. The support is not just limited to family members but also from the society which has its own way of contributing to the beautiful yet a challenging journey of motherhood. The support comes by means of law, medical aid and social ethics. On the occasion of Mother’s Day let us acknowledge mothers who have raised the bars by being loud and clear to ask our law makers to frame laws that support the rights of a mother and her child. They have raised petitions on change.org and have received enormous support from people across the world.

Jincy Varghese

Petition : Hospitals must take consent from parents before feeding formula milk to new Born.

Jincy Varghese was not happy when her new born was fed formula milk while her baby was in NICU for a day after birth, without her consent. Breastfeeding has always been an important attribute of motherhood. Feeding a new born baby with colostrum as the first feed (the yellow discharge from breast that comes before milk) is every mother’s preference given the fact that it is rich in nutrition and has long term health benefits for baby. Similarly, while doctors enforce breastfeeding, hospitals are taking liberty of feeding formula milk to new borns without consent, taking away a mother’s right to make the a decision for her baby. This is exactly what Jincy Varghese experienced as a new mother and decided to come up with a petition on change.org to fight for the rights of a new mother. She wants the lawakers to ensure that unless there is a valid medical reason, hospitals should not feed formula to new borns without consent from mothers.

2. Subarna

Petition: It should be mandatory for hospitals to declare the number of c-section births

Mothers who have C-Section take longer to recover and are prone to postpartum depression. This depression can interfere with breastfeeding and a mother’s ability to accept her new role in turn affecting mother baby bonding. Owing to her own story, Subarna has raised a concern regarding the rising count of C-section deliveries and has raised a petition demanding an action from lawmakers for hospitals to declare the number of C-section births as mandate. Research says only about 10-15% births are C-section births wheres our country has an alarming rate of 30% C-section births in just one state. Need of the hour is to conduct enquires with hospitals that claim this percentage and frame relevant guidelines for hospitals regarding C-section births.

3. Darshana

Petition: Postpartum Depression should be recognised

Our country is lacking a structured support system for new mothers especially
in terms of healthlines. Although digital apps like Babychakra and many other platforms are giving their bit of support to new mothers through content and community, the lawmakers and creators of society need to have a structured healthline support available for new mothers especially with postpartum depression. Darshana felt the need of recognizing postpartum depression when she had her baby and had to deal with the ordeal all by herself. She has raised a voice on behalf of all the new mothers through change.org and has asked the lawmakers to come up with a helpline that supports post partum depression which will help mothers embrace their role happily.

4. Richa

Petition: Child friendly rooms in courts

Number of divorces and child custody battles have gone up recently. Endless trips to courts and legal fights that involve children have a drastic impact on child’s mind emotionally and physically. Richa and her child who are going through this turmoil are not happy with the way children complex rooms have been setup. This is the place a child gets to spend time with their custodial parent and by right, children with mental immaturity are expected to receive special safeguards and protection by legal means which is absolutely missing in these complex rooms. Richa’s petition has created an awareness of a child’s right in legal battles and has received immense support.

5. Deepika Ahuja

Petition: Paternity Leave for Adoptive parents

Role or right of a parent cannot be defined by the way they have their child. With the rising number of couples going for adoption , companies and organizations need to work on policies where the male employees have the benefit of availing paternity leave if they adopt a child. Deepika Ahuja based on her personal experience realised that this kind of an ethical law that supports adoptive parents is missing from our companies and organizations and needs to be addressed by our society makers as a mandate. Her petition has given hope to many adoptive parents who believe that father plays an equal role in embracing parenthood whether the child is biological or adopted.

6. Aarti Shyamsunder

Petition: Paternity leaves to be made mandatory to improve gender equality in the Workforce

While Aarti realised that she was working across various organizations to improve their gender diversity at work, the count of women employees was never stable. Gender diversity at work can only get balanced if there are policies which allow woman workforce to give in their absolute effort at work. This means there needs to be a law or policy that allows male employees to share equal responsibility as a parent back home. One such policy is that of making paternity leaves mandatory. Aarti has raised this petition on behalf of millions of working mothers who struggle to meet a work life balance while taking care of children.

These mothers through various experiences in their journey of being a mom,have come forward and raised their concerns and voices for their rights. Their petitions speak for millions of mothers across our country. These expected rights bring a sense of awareness that this society is lacking in terms of providing support to a mother in her journey of motherhood.

Also read: Ways To Increase Breastmilk Naturally

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