Arpita Mukherjee Is An Example Of A Courageous And Strong Mum. Here’s Why

There comes a pivotal moment in every mother’s life. For Arpita Mukherjee, this pivotal moment came in 2019, when as a first-time expecting mother, she suffered through an indescribable loss. In a candid interview with BabyChakra, Arpita bares it all.

“First pregnancy is always overwhelming and memorable. But I didn’t know that the journey would be so short. I had a miscarriage at six weeks of pregnancy. Did I have an emotional breakdown? Yes I did! But not for long,” says the strong lady.

“After a week, my husband and I decided to give life another chance. But this was not an easy decision for me, firstly to share the thought with my husband. There were many questions in my mind; Am I a bad wife/ woman? Am I so emotionless? Is it wrong to not cry and come out of this emotion so early? What will people think about me? Will he think the way I’m thinking? I was going crazy!!” she adds. 

But as is the case with every mother, Arpita Mukherjee came out of it stronger, more independent, and along with her husband, has become an advocate for equal parenting.

With a million followers on TikTok, Arpita is one of the most followed mum influencers in the country, and creates amazing content on Instagram. 

She also has adopted two Indie dogs and has been invited and interviewed to represent TikTok for animal welfare which is one of her proud moments .

A mother to two adorable kids Kabir who is almost two, and one month old Khia, Arpita has been handling the challenges of motherhood while also doing what she loves – creating content. Here’s a peek into her journey of motherhood, family life, and more. 

She spoke to BabyChakra about that pivotal moment, how it changed her relationship with her husband, and how she is making a difference with her informative videos.

Is there anything else that you work on besides your content creation work?

Besides content creation, I’m also a homemaker with two kids and two pets. Kabir, my elder son is 20 mints old and Khia, my younger daughter is 1 month old. I adopted my pet dogs, Rudy and Orion from the streets. I am a hands-on mother to all of them.

How was the experience of your first pregnancy post the miscarriage?

After my miscarriage, I wanted to give motherhood a chance again. It was a big decision to take. But, I’m lucky enough to have such a loving and supportive husband who immediately said YES!

That one word made me so strong again! With our doctor’s advice, we planned again after a few months. This time it was finally a successful full-term pregnancy journey with my boy Kabir! 

My pregnancy journey with Kabir was beautiful. I was a content creator for TikTok (1Million+ followers) back then, and creating content was my passion at that time too. People would advise me to rest but I was very active both mentally and  physically. I was out there with promotions, creating content and handling my family life as well. I am a very positive person and I enjoyed every bit of my pregnancy.

How was it different from your second pregnancy?

In both my pregnancies I didn’t experience much difference as such, except for the cravings part! I always craved sweet dishes when I was expecting Kabir, and with Khia I craved spicy and salted foods.

What challenges did you face during pregnancy?

We are a nuclear family and during my pregnancy with Kabir, COVID was at its peak. It was hard to manage everything, as there was a complete lockdown at that point. Kabir was born on the day Nisarga Cyclone happened.

After Kabir was born, I couldn’t see him for almost 36 hours as my COVID test reports got delayed. Even the house-help was not allowed in the society. So the entire burden was on us, from being first time parents, to managing the house and work.

During my pregnancy with Khia, it was slightly a relief as far as the lockdown was concerned. And this pregnancy was also a very happy journey.

Has the short age gap between your first, and second child brought difficulties in caring for both? 

Of course, there are difficulties, especially when you are a nuclear family. But as Khia is a planned baby, we knew there would be challenges and we were prepared mentally.

I do get frustrated, angry and even cry at times but it’s all part of parenthood.

Physically, it’s a challenge as you hardly get any sleep. I sleep only for 4-5 hours out of 24 hours. But I believe it’s not going to remain like this forever! So, I go with the flow.

How do you manage to create such awesome content and juggle with motherhood?

I guess one cannot live without a passion and this is what I love to do! So, I focus first on the activities that are a priority for me followed by the rest!

From tea time with my husband which we have never missed in 8 years, to massaging Kabir and Khia in the morning, making food for my pets, to creating posts and reels and so on, I do it all. No mother is a perfect mother, and neither am I.

Some would call my house or kitchen messy but for me that’s not the first priority.

How does your partner support you in taking care of the kids?

My husband has always been my support system since day one. Our marriage is basically a love marriage, and we’ve been married for eight years now.

Our family hasn’t accepted either of us, so we had no support during pregnancy or  in our current parenting phase.

He is doing an outstanding job as a partner and also as a father. We both are learning every day in our parenting journey.

Sometimes I do lose my patience but he holds on and keeps smiling, even though he has tons to handle apart from me! Seeing him standing strong makes me believe that I can do it. 

What are your views on equal parenting?

I strongly believe in equal parenting not just because it reduces a lot of stress but also because you are setting a right example for your future generation. Kids learn to love, care and respect in such an environment.

So that’s Arpita Mukherjee, a loving wife, a supermum, a creator, and an extremely strong woman. It’s but right to honour and celebrate women like her on International Women’s Day. Cheers to string women!