If not in her paternal house, a woman definitely gets her first gyaan on pregnancy post marriage. The eager eyes of wannabe dadis and nanisare an everyday reminder of the pending deed of conception. However, what the older generation teach the soon-to-be-parents or the unmarried women in their family out of experience, the Lucknow University is going to teach formally.
Welcome Garbh Sanskar, the prenatal-care course to be offered at a Uttar Pradesh University
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It will become the first university in the country to launch a certificate and diploma course on “garbh sanskar” from the new academic session.
Under the new course, students will be taught about motherhood including what a pregnant woman should wear and eat, how she should behave and keep herself fit, and what kind of music is good for her. The course is also a medium to generate employment. Breaking the stereotype surrounding pregnancies and how women are solely responsible for her and the baby’s health, even male students can now opt for the course on “garbh sanskar”.
The onus of child rearing and child care shouldn’t be solely on a woman
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The news agency ANI got in touch with the spokesperson of Lucknow University, Durgesh Srivastava, regarding the proposed course. Speaking about the same, Srivastava said: “The step has been taken after state governor Anandiben Patel, who is also the chancellor of state universities, proposed the administration to train girls for their prospective role as mothers.”
This does sound a little off-putting since it strengthens the idea that women are supposed to know-it-all and manage-it-all. When time comes and a new mother is hit with postpartum depression, every relative who eagerly waited for the child now calls it the mother’s sole responsibility and disappears into thin air with their new found titles.
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ANI reported that, the same Ms Patel had given the reference of Abhimanyu from Mahabharata who received warfare skills in his mother’s womb, during her address at last year’s convocation at the university. She had also claimed that there is an institute in Germany which had introduced such a course.
Students at the university and gynaecologists have welcomed the programme which Mr Srivastava said will have 16 core values: “A guideline has been prepared for this programme in which students will learn about 16 values. The programme mainly emphasises on family planning and nutrition value to be taken by pregnant women. Various workshops will be organised under this new course.”
The culture around pregnancy in India needs to stress upon sensitisation of men
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Senior gynaecologist Dr Madhu Gupta said that the course would support women and child welfare programmes. She further added that, “Our country has a rich culture and values. During both pre-conception and conception, the emotions and thinking of a woman reflect on her child. There is a need to look after women’s activities, food and mental peace during pregnancy.”
Hopefully more men will enroll into this programme and learn about the emotions and physical strains that a woman goes through during pregnancy and are sensitised to the issue of their mental well-being, especially during this time.
