Mother’s Day Exclusive | Pariva Pranati on battling postpartum depression: ‘It took me time to connect with the baby’

In Pic: Pariva Pranati

Pariva Pranati, who plays the role of a mother both on reel and in real life, discussed in a Mother's Day special interview with mid-day.com how she dealt with postpartum depression, managing work after having a baby, dealing with mother's guilt, and more.

Pariva started the conversation by sharing her idea of Mother's Day and how her 7-year-old son surprises her. The actress said, "On Mother's Day, I think the protocol should be about celebrating moms. Children should make plans, and in general, mothers should be made to feel special every day. So, that's one thing. At home, my son, who is still young, surprises me with the cards he makes."

The actress further talked about how the priority of a woman changes after she embraces motherhood. "I think priorities change. Before becoming a mother, you are the only priority. You're taking care of yourself, especially single women who are working. But once you become a mother, the child becomes the priority. Their safety, health, and upbringing into a good human being become paramount. For me, it's crucial that my child grows up to be a good human being," Pariva shared.

The conversation around postpartum depression was not a thing back then; it was assumed that mothers would feel love for their kids as soon as he/she is born. Breaking that myth, Pariva shared her postpartum depression journey. The actress said, "I think mothers somewhere felt ashamed of the fact that they were not feeling anything for the child. So, one of the signs of postpartum depression is you have no excitement towards becoming a mother or towards the baby. I actually have faced it firsthand. You know, this is a myth that as a mother, as soon as you deliver a baby, suddenly you become this mother who has all this "mamta ki" feeling towards the child. Actually, aisa nahi hota hai. A lot of things lead to postpartum depression, and then you actually do not relate to the child for some time. I also went through it. So, it took me time to connect with the baby."

Pariva's husband, Puneet Sachdev, is also an actor. When discussing how the two divide their work, she said, "When my husband is home, he takes charge of everything. Extended family plays a significant role when both parents are working. Thankfully, my parents live in Mumbai. If my son has holidays and my husband is not around, I send him to my parents because he enjoys being with them."

Further in the conversation with us, the ‘Wagle ki Duniya' actress talked about mother's guilt and shared that "feeling guilty is the predominant factor of being a mother."

She ended the conversation by dispelling a myth about parents and said that the biggest lie they have ever said is ‘that they know it all'. Later, the actress wished all the lovely mothers a very happy Mother's Day.