Until that day, all I had seen—and felt—were tiny feet kicking in my belly. She kicked a lot, tangoing with the clatter of my keyboard. But, on June 19, by midday, she stopped playing footsie and finally decided to greet the world.
I caught only fragments of hushed talk about a tangled umbilical cord, and panic set in. I saw the doctor reaching for the forceps. She was out—but the cord was wrapped around her neck twice.
For a second, she didn’t cry—a silence that stretched into a heart-stopping eternity. Then, a sweet, sharp wail pierced the stillness. I thought the hard part was over. I was wrong.
Despite being a natural marvel, motherhood remains wrapped in mystery, myth and superstition. We glorify it, cloak it in divinity and grace—yet the science that sustains it often remains hidden.
Even in the 21st century, a mother can find herself learning something entirely new from an Instagram reel, despite having grown up surrounded by the idea of motherhood.
A popular myth suggests that once delivery ends, struggle gives way to the serene ease of feeding a newborn. But how many of us know that our mother’s hips and spine may have disintegrated to produce enough calcium-rich milk?
Yes—if a mother does not get enough calcium from her diet, her body treats her skeleton like a calcium bank, withdrawing what it needs to enrich breast milk for the baby.
My daughter was an SG baby—small for gestational age. I had to help her gain weight quickly, but I was not even sure I was lactating. Enter Sister Elsy, the hospital’s lactation coach—a much-needed breath of calm. She reassured me that I was producing enough colostrum, the nutrient-dense fluid secreted in the first few days after birth. A sliver of order amid the chaos.
Often called liquid gold, colostrum is rich in antibodies and white blood cells—essentially a baby’s first vaccine. The milk begins to arrive by the third or fourth day after delivery.
To produce milk, the body functions like a biological refinery, drawing glucose, amino acids and proteins directly from the mother’s bloodstream. If her diet falls short, the milk does not suffer—the body compensates by dipping into its own reserves. A growing baby requires roughly 300-400ml of breast milk per day. If dietary intake is inadequate, calcium is withdrawn from trabecular bone—the spongy, honeycomb-like structure found abundantly in the hips, pelvis and spine. So, the next time that persistent back pain refuses to fade, it may not be just post-delivery strain. It could be your bones quietly paying the price.
That breastfeeding could be ‘harmful’ to the mother is never talked about. Even women are unaware of it. A friend, mother of two, was as surprised as I was. “Oh! Maybe that’s why the back pain and aches never end,” she said, clutching her hips. Another friend continued to breastfeed her child until the child turned four. She told me mother’s milk is the best food for the baby—which is partly true. So, where do we draw the line?
Studies show that many mothers function in a state of chronic calcium deficit. Experts caution that without proper supplementation, this can raise the risk of osteoporosis—extreme bone loss that can lead to vertebral fractures.
“From 14 weeks of pregnancy to six months post-delivery, a woman should consume 1,000mg of calcium daily. Since studies have found that most Indians don’t meet this requirement through diet alone, supplements are essential,” said Dr Bipin Theruvil, head of arthroplasty, Medical Trust Hospital, Kochi. Neglect can also lead to osteomalacia (condition causing soft, weak bones), stress, fractures and severe muscle cramps, he said.
The situation becomes even more precarious for mothers caught in the trap of restrictive food trends—or for those battling conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, where inflammation further complicates an already demanding biological process.
Dr Teena Anne Joy, gynaecologist at Aster Medcity, Kochi, said prolonged breastfeeding has limited nutritional value. “Feeding a four-year-old serves more as a pacifying mechanism. We recommend exclusive breastfeeding for six months, and continued breastfeeding, along with solids, till two years,” she said. However, she cautioned against blaming breastfeeding alone for aches and pains. “Nutritional deficiencies, posture, and the constant bending and lifting involved in infant care all contribute. Annual check-ups are crucial, but often ignored,” she said.
"During the first year postpartum, hormonal shifts cause temporary bone mineral loss. Adequate calcium, vitamin D, weight-bearing exercise, and avoiding calorie restriction below 1,800kcal are essential for bone health and long-term recovery," said Yogyata Wadhwa, board-certified lactation consultant, in Gurugram.
The daily grind of breastfeeding is a test of endurance—made harder by pumping schedules and the anxious arithmetic of not wasting a single drop.
It is messy. It is beautiful. It is a struggle. Still, dear mother, trust science. Let your ‘Ga Ga’ create music in your home with ‘Ca’.