Diva Kareena pens down pregnancy tips for women; shares personal experience

Mumbai: Kareena Kapoor Khan, a name which broke the long-old tradition of hiding pregnancy and love affairs from the media glare. Being secretive is not her forte.

Undoubtedly, she is and has been an inspiration to aspiring mommies. The way she carried herself with sheer elegance and panache during pregnancy, is commendable. She worked until her last trimester period, and left everyone stunned. In the same room with Taimur Ali Khan, the actress looked the most gorgeous.

What made Bebo share her personal experience during pregnancy and post her delivery? So, "Someone recently commented on a picture of mine post a yoga class and said I looked fat, I realised how insensitive people can be even if a woman has just delivered," said Kareena, who is working day-in and day-out to shed those extra kilos.

Snapped: Kareena Kapoor steps out with prince nawab Taimur

She further added, "It got me thinking about how women must feel about (and deal with) changes in their body post delivery. Maybe their world shatters, maybe they feel so under-confident that getting back into fab shape starts feeling like a faraway dream." And therefore she penned down personal notes for every women.

"I want to share with you what I learned during my pregnancy and post delivery, my personal notes you can call them," asserted the actress and now a proud mother to six-and-a-half month gorgeous son Taimur Ali Khan Pataudi.

Here are the excerpts by Kareena Kapoor Khan:

1. Work on getting fit even before you get pregnant. Since 2007, I have made a conscious effort to eat correctly, exercise and generally lead a more disciplined life. When Rujuta Diwekar (nutritionist) and I started on this journey, marriage was not even on the cards, and pregnancy wasn't even a faint idea in my heart; it started with getting in shape for a role and evolved into a lifestyle.

So, for you, if it starts with getting in shape for a wedding, job, holiday, choose your diet plan cautiously and ask yourself the big question — does it have the potential to evolve into a lifestyle? And if it cannot and is something that's just a two-day or a two-month affair, drop it. If I could shoot during pregnancy, walk the ramp and travel the world, it's only because my body was healthy.

I look the way I do because I have been at it for a decade, and not because of what I did or didn't do in the last two weeks or immediately post my delivery.

2. Pregnancy is a physiological milestone, don't confuse it with a sickness - and surely don't let the people around you, including your doctor, treat it like one. Do you have to be careful of hydration, meal timings or calcium intake? Yes. But do you have to give up on living your life and make it all about the pregnancy and the growing stomach? No. And this is exactly why a history of staying healthy help.

The one time when heaps of advice gets loaded on you is during pregnancy. Eat this, don't eat that. Don't drink this. Don't take up that role, etc. Emotionally also, it's the most vulnerable stage a woman can go through. It's the one time that you may actually consider every random advice coming your way and worse, implement it. A friend of mine went on doodhi juice, another stopped exercising, and we all know many who quit their careers due to their pregnancy. It's not the time to start or stop anything, it's the time to take everything in your stride, to go on. So keep up with eating wholesome food, don't let some random fool tell you that it has too much carbs or fat or whatever. Wear the clothes you want and don't limit yourself to mommy's section or whatever. You are alive, with another life inside you, so if anything, live every moment twice.

3. Mother Nature has your back. Just like pregnancy gives you a specific shape, albeit a round one, post delivery too, you are in a specific shape. Don't be in a rush to get rid of it. The extra fat is required for many important tasks such as lactation and protection of both the baby and the mom from infections and illnesses. If you have a long history of fitness and ate right through the pregnancy, then just like the body grew, it will also shrink back naturally. The key here is patience and compassion. Eating very little, or nothing, in a bid to lose that weight, is just silly.

I remember specifically the conversation between me and Rujuta post my delivery when I told her to put me on the Tashan diet. She said no, we have to be careful, compassionate, feed the body well or risk hormonal imbalances later. Lolo (Karisma Kapoor) was in agreement with Rujuta. She had knocked off some 25 kgs post her second delivery and famously done it eating rice and fish curry, and she in my eyes is the fittest mom out there. And Saif, on his part, told me women are inherently beautiful so they really shouldn't bother with losing weight, it's the men who really need to get their act together. Very sweet he is, I know.

4. Don't forget yourself after you deliver . Give your body some recuperation time. Pregnancy is tough, delivery is tougher and the toughest job of your life, motherhood, is just about to start. It takes a village to raise a child, goes a famous African proverb. So surely allow your family to help you with the baby - the husband, maasi, older cousins, let them spend some time with the baby while you get some peace and time to yourself. Having your own life, staying healthy, keeping up with your work life is all important for the baby. A baby who grows up around a healthy and happy mom can build a good life for herself and contribute towards society much more meaningfully. We even have science now backing this up: sons of working mothers are kinder and daughters are smarter. Not having a life of our own doesn't automatically turn us into great mothers, nor does being skinny. So be kind to yourself.

Pregnancy and motherhood are fun if you are ready to enjoy every change in the body, every milestone with your baby. Mother and child is a bond that transcends waistlines, religious lines, borders and beliefs. Here's to all of us, the women of today and the children of tomorrow.