3 min learnNew DelhiFeb 27, 2026 06:00 PM IST
Producer Ekta Kapoor, 50, who embraced motherhood in 2019 through surrogacy, opened up about experiencing mother’s guilt, sharing that regardless of her hectic schedule, she ensures to spend time together with her son, Ravi. “His identify is Ravi. I’ve saved it in my father’s identify. Additionally, as a result of he was born on a Sunday. I believe mom’s guilt is actual. Mera beta meri zindagi me aise match hogaya hai ki predominant kaam bhi karti hun toh mere saath hai (He has slot in my life in such a method that he’s all the time with me). He involves the workplace to eat. Only some individuals know that regardless of wherein assembly I’m, he eats his dinner with me on daily basis. His dinner is with me within the workplace. His time is essential to me. As a result of I grew to become a mom very late,” Ekta advised Usha Kakde Productions on YouTube.
Affirming {that a} mom’s guilt is actual, Delnna Rrajesh, a psychotherapist and life coach, mentioned it arises when a girl feels she is failing at work or at parenting, generally each concurrently.
“It’s amplified by social judgment. If she works lengthy hours, she is accused of neglect. If she scales again, she is questioned about ambition. Psychologically, guilt typically alerts care. It means the mom deeply values her little one. However continual guilt can distort notion. It may make a reliable, loving mum or dad really feel perpetually insufficient. The more healthy query isn’t ‘Did I do that on the proper age?’ It’s ‘Am I emotionally accessible now?’” added Delnna.
Mother’s guilt is actual (Photograph: AI-generated)
Kids don’t measure love in hours alone. In accordance with Delnna, they measure it in consideration. Predictability. Emotional responsiveness. Rituals. “Even small day by day anchors like consuming collectively create attachment safety,” mentioned Delnna.
There may be additionally a robust reframing wanted round so-called ‘late motherhood’, contended Delnna.
“Emotional maturity can improve parenting. A lady who has constructed her identification, confronted her insecurities and stabilised her ambitions typically brings higher emotional readability to motherhood. She is much less more likely to see her little one as her solely supply of validation and extra more likely to see them as an impartial particular person,” mentioned Delnna.
Balancing ambition and parenting requires acutely aware design. Some sensible shifts that shield each roles embody:
*Creating day by day rituals, nonetheless small, that belong solely to mum or dad and little one.
*Communicating brazenly with the kid about work, in order that they really feel included slightly than excluded.
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*Releasing comparability with different moms.
*Prioritising emotional presence over perfection.
“The actual measure isn’t whenever you grew to become a mom. It’s how consciously you mom now,” added Delnna.

