Shweta recalls being upset after discovering low fertility levels: I wanted the choice to be mine

Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) Bollywood actress Shweta has opened up about the emotional impact of discovering that her fertility levels were low, saying she was upset because she wanted the freedom to decide whether or not to have children on her own terms, rather than having that choice taken away from her.

Shweta was a guest at Soha Ali Khan’s podcast All About Her.The episode explores how younger generations are rethinking marriage, parenthood, and relationships amid changing social and economic realities.

Reflecting on her own journey, Shweta shared how her understanding of motherhood evolved, from always imagining herself having children to questioning whether it was the right choice for her.

Speaking about the realities of motherhood and the responsibilities often placed on women, she said in the podcast: “First of all, I think once you become a mother, you become a superhuman because I have seen my friends, my own sister-in-law, and we live together.

It's easy. It's the exact opposite of that.”

“And again, I don't know how the generations before us did it, but now that I'm seeing it again, I'm like, and in fact, my friends also, they're like, nobody spoke to us about this. That this is also what happens. And the list is long. So hats off to all the mothers because I think it takes a lot of courage and strength and sacrifice and it's very tough.”

Shweta also opens up about the moment she discovered that her fertility levels were low, recalling how the news affected her because she wanted the freedom to make the decision about having children on her own terms.

She says, “I remember I was really upset because I was like, I wanted the choice to be mine. Like I don't want somebody else telling me that, oh, you can't have a child. Even if let's say that time I was thinking I don't know if I want to have a child or not.”

During the conversation, Soha also asked Shweta about the questions and expectations she has faced around marriage and parenthood/

Shweta said: “Luckily, both my families have been very supportive.

They obviously wanted to become grandparents and masi and everything, but they were never pushy. They never made me feel uncomfortable.”

“In fact, when I got married at 33, before that, the question used to be, ‘When are you getting married?’ So, that pressure, not from my parents but from people around me, was there, and that used to annoy me. But when it comes to having children, I don't know how I've really lucked out because I'm sure it's not like this for most people.”

She added: There are people who come, like women who work and take care of the household, and as soon as my sister-in-law had a baby, they started saying, ‘Madam, aap next? Aap good news kab de rahe ho?’ I used to just look at my sister-in-law, and she would be like or my mother-in-law would say, ‘Yeah, it's okay, it's okay.’”

Soha Ali Khan’s All About Her streams on YouTube.

--IANS

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