My Kolkata spoke to mothers from Kolkata and beyond to understand how this pressure feels in real life. ADVERTISEMENT“Indian mothers today are definitely expected to look fit, youthful and effortlessly put-together, almost as if motherhood should leave no visible trace,” she said. Social media and its expectationsMany pointed to social media as the biggest driver of these expectations, with some saying platforms have turned motherhood into a performanceSeveral mothers pointed to social media as the biggest driver of these expectations. “I dressed up, went for events, tried to look like the mother social media wants me to be. Ritika Agarwal, a 39-year-old homemaker from Kolkata with a 16-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, felt the pressure to look youthful is relatively new.

Source: The Telegraph February 07, 2026 09:47 UTC