The baby is born. The mother is expected to bounce back. Lose the weight. Flatten the belly. Get back in shape. Look like you did before pregnancy.

For many women, postpartum recovery is treated almost like a deadline.

The recent scrutiny of Katrina Kaif's postpartum body has once again exposed this uncomfortable reality, society is often far more interested in how quickly a new mother looks "normal" than in how she is actually healing.

Actor Sameera Reddy, maternal wellness expert Charu Shankar and journalist-author Kaveree Bamzai came together to discuss why the conversation around postpartum women needs to change, from body image to actual maternal health.

"Biology expects a woman to change. Culture expects her to look as if nothing happened" says Charu Shankar.

That contradiction, she adds, lies at the heart of postpartum body pressure.

Pregnancy changes a woman's body. Childbirth changes it further. But society often expects women to emerge looking almost untouched.

Change At The Cellular Level

And the transformation is not only physical. Shankar described matrescence - the transition into motherhood - as a profound change in identity, relationships, responsibilities and sense of self.

"It is so much more than the body that changes," she said. It changes at the cellular level.

Yet postpartum conversations are often reduced to one question: How much weight have you lost?

Reddy knows the pressure firsthand.

After becoming a mother, she faced comments about her weight and appearance - not just online but in everyday life.

She says the expectation that women should immediately return to their pre-pregnancy bodies creates an impossible standard.

"How many people talk about, 'When am I going to get my pre-pregnancy body?'" Reddy said. "Please reinvent yourself and go to a newer you."

For Reddy, the idea of a "bounce back" itself needs questioning.

A woman's body has just carried and delivered a baby. Recovery, she argues, should not be treated as a punishment for having changed.

Postpartum Fitness Should Not Be Punishment

Shankar says many women approach fitness after childbirth with a mindset of correction.

Get rid of the belly. Lose the fat. Fit into the old clothes.

But postpartum recovery, she argues, should be about rebuilding strength, restoring health and developing a healthier relationship with one's body.

"The way we talk to our bodies, it's so unkind," she said.

The goal should not necessarily be to become the woman you were before pregnancy. It should be to understand and care for the woman you are now.

Perhaps the bigger question is what happens after the delivery room.

During pregnancy, the mother often receives attention and care. Once the baby arrives, that attention can suddenly shift almost entirely to the child.

Reddy says that shift can be emotionally overwhelming.

Is she sleeping? Is she eating? Is she coping? Is she anxious? Is she struggling with breastfeeding? Does she need help?

These questions, she says, need to become part of postpartum care.

Reddy also spoke about her own experience with postpartum mental-health struggles and how her husband recognised that she was not coping well and stepped in to help.

The message is simple: caring for the baby cannot mean forgetting the mother.

Postpartum Depression Is Not The Same As The 'Baby Blues'

The panel also highlighted the need for greater awareness around postpartum mental health. Many women experience short-lived emotional changes after childbirth, commonly referred to as the baby blues. But postpartum depression is different and can persist, affecting mood, anxiety, functioning and the ability to cope.

Reddy says her own experience made her realise how little she knew about postpartum mental health at the time.

And that lack of awareness can make it harder for women and families to recognise when professional help may be needed.

Motherhood Comes With An Invisible Workload

For Bamzai, the postpartum conversation must go beyond the body. There is another burden that often remains invisible: the cognitive load of motherhood.

Who remembers the vaccination schedule? Who knows when the child's school form needs to be submitted? Who keeps track of medicines, meals, appointments and milestones?

The physical burden of childbirth may eventually heal. The mental responsibility can continue for years.

Bamzai argued that society needs to recognise this if it wants to move towards genuine equal parenting.

Even something as basic as a diaper-changing facility in a men's washroom reflects how society still assumes that childcare belongs primarily to women.

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