Mother`s Day special: How these new-age moms are fighting their own battles

New Delhi: Like any other special day, Mother's Day is celebrated as a mark of honour to all the mothers out there. In any family, the mother is the first teacher of the child, therefore, it is primary that at least a day is solely dedicated to making her feel elated and special.

The date differs every year as in most of the countries, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. This year, it happens to fall on May 12. However, in several other countries, Mother's Day is celebrated on different date and month.

The day celebrates motherhood and honours mothers of the family for their unconditional love and support.

Here are a few new-age mothers, who are fighting their own tough battles in life and working hard to make each day count better.

Jincy Varghese, Panvel

She is a 31-year-old software professional from Panvel, who felt deeply traumatised when her newborn child was fed formula milk at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), without giving her a chance to breastfeed. Her campaign is asking hospitals to take consent before feeding formula milk to newborns.

Jincy runs a campaign on change.org

She writes that formula milk to babies is a medical intervention and it should only be done in case of a medical condition that inhibits the mother or the baby from breastfeeding. And if there actually is a medical condition, then consent should be taken, just like in that case of any other medical procedure. In my case, there was no need for formula feeding at all. There are risks associated with feeding formula milk to babies which should be clearly mentioned in the consent form.

Her campaign now has 91000 supporters.

Deepika Ahuja, Bangalore

Deepika was harrowed by her personal journey when she brought home an adopted child. She wrote, “This child needed my attention and I was lucky because the organisation where I worked gave me four months of parental leave. I experienced her milestones as she grew: The first time she smiled, the first time she called me “Aeeee Didi” and the first time she laughed out loud. I was there to hold her when she missed her orphanage family and cried. I was there for afternoon naps, and evening walks. But most importantly, I was there to help her understand that I was her mother.”

Deepika has started a petition on change.org.

She has urged the Minister for Labour and Employment to provide equal parental leaves to adoptive parents. The currently existing Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Act sets the stage for discrimination against adoptive parents and adopted children.