Tanya Vatsa On Dealing With Trolls, Pregnancy And Motherhood

Content creation and entrepreneurship can be managed well if a mum wishes to and puts all her efforts into it. However, with online content creation also comes the trolls that creators have to deal with. 

In a candid interview with BabyChakra, influencer and entrepreneur mum Tanya Vatsa shares her motherhood and career challenges.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself. 

I moved back to Mumbai eight years ago from the United States where I spent over a decade studying and then working, and it has been quite a transition. I left as a student and moved back as a mum with a husband, a puppy and a seven-month-old baby. 

Juggling everything has been fun but it hasn’t let my focus and love for healthcare slide – and I have always been career-focused and driven. I currently run a healthcare start-up for IV Therapy, a dialysis centre and a cancer centre. In addition to content creation which is something I thoroughly enjoy. 

2. When and how did your entrepreneurial journey start?

I have been dabbling in healthcare-related entrepreneurship since I moved back. I even spent a couple of years on a skincare project that I was unable to bring to fruition due to pricing and regulations, which is where my entrepreneurial journey started. Now though, I feel like after exploring and turning down a lot of options, I am back in healthcare delivery (which is the area I have worked in previously in the states too – I used to help manage outpatient centres in the Bronx in NYC) and as an entrepreneur and I love it. 

3. What inspired you to become a content creator? What’s your favourite thing about this job? How does your work inspire your kids? 

I have always loved to write so my journey in content actually began as notes written on the phone while nursing my son Riaan. It was the little tips that helped to make my day easier – and also the kind of tips that people get too busy to give you but are the ones that really matter – like going up a size instead of down when your diapers are leaking. 

The blog’s following grew and then I even started to post on Facebook and eventually on Instagram. However, it started and has remained about writing for me. I have also authored a book called All You Need to Know About Parenting, which was published in 2019.

4. What are your tips on travelling with kids?

I have tons of tips! Check them out here-

http://www.mommydiaries.me/2017/07/20-tips-on-staying-sane-while-traveling.html

5. How was your pregnancy journey with your first child and second child?

I thought my first pregnancy was difficult – because I had severe sciatica. But I managed to work until the day I delivered and would drive myself to work in The Bronx. In fact, I had postponed my maternity leave and was at work the day I went into labour. I finally delivered at the hospital chain where I worked. My labour experience was a hellish nightmare altogether because Riaan’s heart rate was fluctuating and I had to be induced. It took about 27 hours. 

In hindsight, that was an easy pregnancy compared to my second. I went through IVF the second time and had clots in my uterus. So I was on daily progesterone injections throughout my first trimester. I ended up with hyperemesis and vomited the whole pregnancy, only to go into labour at 32 weeks. I ended up on bed rest in and out of the hospital for another 4 weeks. I did not have an easy second pregnancy, and even my labour experience was scary as I was contracting (for almost a week), but not dilating – I finally had to be induced again and had a C-section scheduled for a few hours later. But the induction worked, only to lead to an episiotomy and other fun stuff. 

6. What is your parenting style? What are your thoughts on instilling discipline in children?

I’ve always been a very lenient parent, but now, with my kids getting older and more sure of their own minds I do have to be firm when it comes to things like homework and healthy foods. As a parent, it’s my role to be their teacher first and then their friend next and I try my best to juggle both roles without being hard on them – and with a whole bunch of patience. 

It is a parent’s role to teach manners and discipline, but there is definitely a kind way to do this. 

7. What are your thoughts on India’s education system? Would you recommend any changes? 

I think schools today are doing a good job keeping up with changing trends and the ever-changing landscape of education. My children are in the same school that I was in and in some ways it’s the same – which I think is great to get their foundation and basics in place. Yet at the same time, there is a more integrated approach with foreign boards and more application-based learning than we had. Which board to choose is a personal decision for each family, but overall we have a lot more options now than we did even 8 years ago when I had just moved. 

8. Husbands play a crucial role in bringing up a child, what are your views on equal parenting? How has your hubby helped you co-parent? 

Yes, they definitely do. I think parenting should be equal in every way – but it’s not something that we have managed to achieve in our home. As a mother, I definitely juggle more with the kids’ schedules, all of their homework and responsibilities, in spite of working full time. I think this is the case in most of the households that I know – the mum bears most of the parenting load and it really should be different. 

9. How has being a working mum changed your relationship with your child and husband?

I’ve been a working mom since day one. Even in the United States when I had my son, I did so on maternity leave. I ended up extending the leave though and eventually resigned to move to India. I was back to work soon after we moved. So there was no change as such because it’s the only way I’ve known. However, I have to say that I don’t know how stay-at-home moms do it – and all due credit to them. Post covid (or rather during covid), I switched my schedule to work from home more. I do get out for meetings and patients etc and that’s almost every day – but work from home gets hard when there are actually other people in the house! 

10. How do you stay motivated as a content creator and entrepreneur?

This has never been an issue for me. I’m constantly inspired by the people around me, and the goals that I set for myself. My kids are a huge source of inspiration too. I want them to have strong role models and try very hard to be that for them.

11. How do you deal with trolls online?

I go between ignoring them and calling them out. It depends on how much my boundaries are crossed. Body shamers and misogynists definitely get called out – I revert, even do a story on it and block the account. In the hope that they don’t do it again. The less offensive trolling though I manage to ignore. 

12. What’s your advice to new mums and parents balancing work and kids?

To be very patient with themselves, make sure that they are including time for self-care, draw boundaries when they need it (even if that means insisting that your husband help), and put away the mom guilt – being a more satisfied and fulfilled person will also make you a better parent. 

13. How has the pandemic changed your parenting style? 

I loved the time I got with my kids (almost as much as I hated home school), and so I am definitely trying to be around more and to work from home as much as I can. I’m also a lot more conscious of everything we consume – in terms of sustainability (I can’t forget how clear the skies were when we were all locked down), and also in terms of healthier foods for myself and my kids.

I loved having family meal times so I make sure that at least the 3 of us – me and the kids, get a meal together daily. 

14. What future do you envision for your children?

I think the world is an unpredictable place in terms of the environment but also in terms of sentiments worldwide too. Different policy changes, also affect where I would send them to study and which parts of the world still feel safe to us. But with all that in mind, I just want them to be safe and happy, pursuing their own dreams in an unencumbered way!

Image credits – Tanya Vatsa