Rupali Ganguly felt like a ‘failed mother’ when she couldn’t lactate: ‘Totally killed and judged myself’

TV actor Rupali Ganguly has said that she did not lactate when she had her son Rudransh Verma and the social pressure of breastfeeding her child made her feel like a ‘failed mother’. Rupali welcomed her son in 2015, two years after she got married to businessman Ashwin K Verma in 2013. (Also read: Rupali Ganguly shares video as she buys new Mercedes car, celebrates with family)

Rupali has often talked about the “miracle” that her son is, because of the difficulties she faced before conceiving him. She had thyroid issues that made it difficult for her to conceive. Rupali also said that at the time, having a baby was the only goal in her life.

Recalling the time she gave birth to her son, Rupali told ETimes, “Once the child is born, we women put too much pressure on ourselves that only breast milk should be given, again the conditioning that you have got as a child, you follow that. People come to give you advice. I did not lactate and it is fine. I want to tell all the mothers. I totally killed and judged myself, I felt like a failed mother over it that I can’t even feed my baby. I psyched myself completely.”

She added that she gained weight after she ate different things to help with her lactation and weighed 83 kg. “After a point even my ankles couldn’t bear my weight. When I would take my son to the pram for a stroll, people would say ‘Arre Tu toh Monisha hai Na, kitni Moti hogayi'(You are Monisha! You have become fat).’ Maybe someone must have said that in a very nice way, but you feel bad.”

Rupali said that such comments do hurt, adding that once an actress friend of hers told her she had turned into an “aunty”.

Rupali is best known for portraying the middle-class woman Monisha Sarabhai in the popular comedy TV Show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai alongside Ratna Pathak Shah. Rupali has also featured in TV shows such as Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi and Baa Bahoo Aur Baby. For the past few years, she is ruling the charts with her fiction show Anupamaa in which she essays the lead role of a Gujarati homemaker.