My Journey of Self-acceptance: Megha Gupta

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Self-acceptance is not an easy journey in a world that wants you to fit into those shallow beauty standards.
You should try some weight loss exercises.
Hey, don’t eat that you will put on weight.
Wear some loose-fit clothes; it will hide your curves.
Oh! You are eating again.
Hearing such taunts was a part of my everyday life while growing up. Friends, relatives, and sometimes even strangers did not spare me from their unsolicited advice on weight loss. The constant body shaming compelled me to recoil into a shell and I defied self-acceptance. To cope, I grew aloof from my friends and avoided family gatherings, gave up my favorite clothes that showed too much skin and even flinched from walking alone on the roads. Meanwhile, I developed frequent episodes of anxiety and panic attacks and I started questioning my worth. Will I ever be loved or liked? – became a recurring thought.

Amidst all the fuss my only solace was dance. I loved to groove over my favourite songs and thus whenever hurt, I would resort to dancing alone in my room until I felt better again.

My Strength

Things started to look up when I married my best friend. He not only accepted me for who I am but also respected my individuality and the choices to live the life I want. I felt empowered being with him. I started regaining my confidence and picked up every single thing that was forbidden due to my weight. Right from wearing short dresses to going on a wandering spree and eating my favorite food without having someone’s eye on my plate – I started doing it all. Thus, started my journey of self-acceptance. I got the confidence of ignoring the nuisance of the world to do the things I loved.

My daughter – Mini Me

Seven years into the marriage I gave birth to my baby girl Avyana. I wanted to give her the best upbringing and made it a priority to fulfill all her wishes. It made me ecstatic to see the miniature version of me springing right in front of me. More than anything I wanted her to be confident and live her life to the fullest without dreading the world. I would push her to be at the forefront of every activity in school and she on her part rocked at everything she participated in. Then, resurfaced my worst fear. My relatives started picking on my 6-year-old daughter for being chubby and asking me to not dress her in short clothes. I feared Avyana suffering through the same things like I did. But her Mumma has learned to face the world and turn down all odds bravely.

I make sure my daughter lives without the fear of being judged, dresses the way she loves, and eats all that she wants to. To encourage her I put up her acting and dancing videos on Instagram I love how my girl is having a lively and fulfilling childhood that I was deprived of.

After all these years it’s not a smooth sail. People at my workplace and family gathering still pick on me for my weight but unlike the old times, I have learned to face them with a befitting retort.

The journey continues…

I owe huge gratitude to my husband for firmly standing beside me through thick and thin and making the journey of self-acceptance easier. Not everyone is lucky to find such a supporting partner and I feel really lucky to have one.
To all the women who face the wrath for their weight – It’s about time we own up to ourselves and give the love our bodies deserve. Stop trying to fit into those fake beauty standards that change every day. Life is too short to bother about the world’s view about your body and your life. Let’s encourage ourselves and everyone around us to start their own journey of self acceptance.

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Couples these days are opting to meet a doctor before planning a pregnancy to make sure everything is alright with them. Pre-pregnancy tests or preconception care is now becoming a common practice offered by obstetricians & gynecologists.

While this may not always be necessary, but to make sure that you and your partner don’t have any conditions or illnesses that could affect pregnancy or chances of becoming pregnant can make a difference. Getting the right advice about exercise, eating, lifestyle and folic acid supplement can increase chances of conception and reduce the risks of miscarriage or birth defects.

Why is consulting the obstetrician important prior to conception?

Preconception counseling or preparing for pregnancy is mandatory for the benefit of the mother and the baby. A woman’s health prior to conception and during pregnancy is critical to the outcome of the pregnancy and may have a lifelong impact on her baby’s health for two main reasons:

1. To detect and assess any specific health problem in the woman or the partner so that they can be managed appropriately prior to pregnancy.

2. To obtain general advice about optimizing health care and lifestyle with pregnancy in mind. A woman should undergo a detailed medical examination including breast examination and Pap smear.

What are Pre-pregnancy Tests

Dr. Akhila Sangeetha Bhat, OB
GYN, Chennai

Dr. Akhila Sangeetha Bhat, a gynecologist from Chennai, does pre-pregnancy work-up or preconception care for aspiring parents. “There are many married couples who are coming forward now to opt for an assessment of their bodies keeping family planning in mind. These are mostly women with hormonal imbalance, obesity, irregular periods who have been trying for conception. So basically they want to know if they are fine and can go ahead with planning for the child.”

What comprises this pre-pregnancy tests or preconception care?

“This is a basic health check-up which consists of complete blood work, hemoglobin profile and hormonal work, along with a basic scan and hormone investigations. This mostly clears the air of any abnormalities that they may need to worry about like low hemoglobin, hormonal imbalance, polycystic ovaries, etc and we know specifically what needs to be sorted beforehand”, says Dr. Bhat.

Blood tests and a pap smear may be done to rule out any medical conditions that could affect pregnancy or chances of conceiving. For men, a semen analysis can help in determining sperm motility. Illnesses such as Rubella, or German measles immunity, Chickenpox immunity, HIV, Hepatitis B immunity, Herpes, other STDs (such as chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea), thyroid problems (with a TSH test), and other conditions may be tested for.

Genetic Profiling

A genetic profile is not generally required until and unless the family of the couples has a history of genetic abnormalities. An incidence of male infertility, female infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, history of autism, ADHD, down’s syndrome, vitiligo, albinism, glycogen storage disorder, are a few things that need to be watched out for in the family and brought to the attention of the doctors so that necessary genetic profiling can be done to identify or rule out any such abnormalities.

Sickle cell anemia, Thalassemia (an inherited form of anemia), and genetic diseases common in the population are done depending on the ethnicity of the patient.

While some may think that this is unnecessary and not required, a little prep and precautions before starting a family can make a difference in many cases especially with the many lifestyle diseases that are popping up nowadays even among the young.