Neha Dhupia recently opened up about the criticism she faced after getting pregnant before marriage and how the experience became the driving force behind her initiative Freedom to Feed.‘How did the baby come in six months?’Neha revealed that when a pregnancy test confirmed she was expecting, she and actor Angad Bedi decided to marry. Soon after, they welcomed their daughter, Mehr. But the conversation around their wedding, she recalled, was filled with judgment.“I married Angad, and after six months we welcomed our daughter. But the biggest conversation around our wedding was, ‘How did the baby come in six months? Ye ho kaise gaya?’” she told Mid-day.Trolled but unfazedNeha admitted she was not the first woman to face scrutiny for getting pregnant before marriage and handled the chatter with humour. “Even now, I see stories and tags on female actors who get pregnant before marriage. I feel, at least, I’m on the same list as Neena Gupta and Alia Bhatt. But honestly, this is ridiculous,” she said.She stressed that no one had the right to dictate, question, or assume when a person should marry or have a baby. “Pregnancy is beautiful, and that’s it!”
Launching her platformThe backlash became the spark behind her platform that creates safe, stigma-free conversations around motherhood. Reflecting on her journey, Neha said women need an open space to discuss pregnancy, breastfeeding, postpartum recovery, and the challenges that come with them.“We need to normalise discussions around women’s health instead of treating them as taboo. [I wanted] to spread awareness, break myths, and remind women they are not alone in this journey. These subjects should not be swept under the rug. If I’m being trolled for talking about things that affect half the population, then so be it. I’m not going to stop,” she concluded.
