Breaking stereotypes: Kishwer Merchant embraces pregnancy at 40
What's the story
TV stars Kishwer Merchant and husband Suyyash Rai are on cloud nine as they will soon be blessed with their first child.
The couple shared the good news in a really adorable way, posting on Instagram, "You can now stop asking 'when are you guys gonna have a baby'."
Later in an interview, Merchant spoke about welcoming motherhood at 40.
Here's more.
Pregnancy
The couple was surprised by the pregnancy results
Merchant told Pinkvilla that the baby wasn't planned and hence she was surprised when she tested positive.
"It came as a shocker for us initially as we weren't expecting it at all. We hadn't planned it. It was like a big shocker in the beginning but it gradually turned into a pleasant surprise," she said.
The couple is expecting their first child in August.
Motherhood
Have conceived naturally at 40: Merchant
The mother-to-be firmly believes that one needs to break societal norms, as she is doing.
"I have conceived naturally at 40 and I don't think that age is a major problem in today's era in terms of conceiving. Nobody can say that in my case I mean, as I said I conceived naturally at 40 and I think it's fantastic," she said.
Baby
Rai wants a boy, his wife a girl
The couple confessed that they can hardly wait for the new member's arrival.
"Well, we want a healthy baby but if I have to make a choice then I am slightly vouching for a boy. Also because I really will get him to play cricket and do those things that I missed out on as a child," Rai said.
But Merchant wants a girl.
Details
Several celebrities embraced motherhood after 35
Merchant is not the only one who conceived post the assumed "fixed age."
In 2016, singer Raageshwari Loomba gave birth to a baby girl. She was 41 at the time.
Director Farah Khan had welcomed triplets at the age of 43, through the IVF process. Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan became a mother to daughter Aaradhya Bachchan at the age of 38.