The #MotherhoodOnHold campaign is not a marketing gimmick. It is a mirror to a reality that working women have silently faced for years.
Earlier, we discussed the importance of continuing conversations around motherhood, not just on Mother’s Day, but every day. Mothers do not take days off. They care, provide, and support without checking a clock. So why should the appreciation and conversations around their challenges be limited to a single day?
In our previous piece, we spoke about the “Motherhood Penalty” and the workplace barriers many women encounter after becoming mothers. However, there’s another side to this story. Long before motherhood starts, many working women face the financial weight of preparing for it. #MotherhoodonHold, a campaign by Aditya Birla Capital in partnership with FCB Kinnect India, brings this often-ignored issue into the spotlight.
#MotherhoodOnHold Campaign: Aditya Birla Capital reveals financial barriers to motherhood
Aditya Birla Capital, in partnership with FCB Kinnect India, released Motherhood on Hold to challenge the usual feel-good tone of Mother’s Day campaigns. Instead of celebrating motherhood with flowers and emotion, the campaign exposed the harsh reality of how many women delay becoming mothers because they cannot afford it. The decision to become a mother is increasingly influenced by affordability rather than emotion.
With rising costs across prenatal care, childcare, education, and everyday living, the financial demands of starting a family have become a significant barrier. As these expenses grow, more women are forced to put their dreams of parenthood on pause.
The #MotherhoodOnHold campaign opens with a scene that resembles a corporate interview. A woman sits across from what appears to be a job candidate. She calmly explains, “Currently, we are facing constraints, so for now, it’s a no from our side.” She continues, citing limited budgets and financial uncertainty, saying the timing just doesn’t seem right. Initially, it feels like an everyday HR conversation. But as the moment unfolds, the viewer sees she isn’t speaking to a colleague. She’s addressing a vision board, a symbolic space where she had pictured her future child.
She isn’t turning down a candidate. Instead, she’s setting aside her hopes of motherhood. In that moment, it becomes clear that she is putting her dream of motherhood on hold. The campaign effectively portrays the emotional weight of a financial decision, one where a woman must put motherhood on hold, not because she wants to, but because her current financial situation doesn’t allow otherwise.
The rising cost of motherhood
The #MotherhoodOnHold campaign is not a dramatised story for the sake of emotion. The number of women choosing to delay motherhood is steadily rising due to rising expenses and a lack of financial support.
The annual cost of raising a child in urban India ranges from ₹80,000 to ₹1,00,000, depending on lifestyle and housing arrangements. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai or Delhi, this figure often exceeds ₹2,00,000 per year due to higher living expenses.
For working parents, childcare is a significant financial burden. Daycare centres typically charge between ₹5,000 and ₹20,000 per month, depending on the services and location. Medical expenses during pregnancy add to the cost. On average, expecting mothers spend about ₹2,000 per month just on medications and supplements. Over seven months, from the confirmation of pregnancy to the eighth month, this adds up to approximately ₹14,000.
In addition, cultural practices such as baby showers (godh bharai) bring further expenses. These events can cost anywhere between ₹50,000 and ₹1,00,000, depending on the number of guests and the scale of the celebration.
These figures explain why many women are forced to think about the affordability of motherhood before making that decision.
Financial planning must come before parenthood
Are future parents, especially women, financially prepared for parenthood? The short answer is no. Financial planning for parenthood remains overlooked in many Indian households. Most people begin considering the real costs only after a child is on the way. By then, options were limited, and sacrifices were often made, most commonly by women.
The financial burden of motherhood affects women more deeply because it intersects with their careers. Many women delay becoming mothers because they simply cannot afford the combined cost of childcare and a break from work. Unlike traditional assumptions, most women today do not have the luxury of stepping away from employment without long-term consequences. If they do take a career break, returning to the workforce becomes far more difficult. The hiring gap, missed promotions, and loss of financial independence are all part of the silent penalty many women face.
While financial planning is often seen as an individual or family responsibility, companies can, and should, play a much bigger role in easing the financial pressures of motherhood. The reality is that many working women delay parenthood not just because of rising personal costs, but also due to a lack of support and flexibility at work. When workplaces fail to provide adequate maternity benefits, paid leave, childcare support, or rejoining pathways after career breaks, they indirectly contribute to the financial burden.
Campaigns like #MotherhoodOnHold by Aditya Birla Capital are important because they bring attention to a subject that’s often ignored. Financial planning should be a standard part of conversations around family planning, especially for working women. This lack of early financial planning puts women in a difficult position: choosing between building a career or starting a family when, ideally, they shouldn’t have to choose at all.
Voices behind the message
Darshana Shah, Chief Marketing Officer of Aditya Birla Capital, explained the intent clearly: “We believe people should make life decisions on their own terms. Motherhood should not come with a compromise. Motherhood on Hold is a reminder of the financial realities many women face and a call to act early.”
Chandni Shah, Chief Operating Officer at FCB Kinnect, added, “We didn’t want to repeat the usual warmth seen on Mother’s Day. This story is raw, urgent, and real. It speaks to the women who are still waiting, a part of the conversation that often gets left out.”
Neville Shah, Chief Creative Officer at FCB Kinnect, echoed that sentiment: “Today, planning for motherhood is stressful enough as it is. And to add to it, the cost of becoming a mother and being a parent is rising. We just wanted to gently nudge the people who want to be mothers so that we can help them plan one thing and ease that stress.”
The real cost of delayed motherhood: What the #MotherhoodOnHold campaign teaches us
As the cost of becoming a parent continues to rise, this journey becomes even more complicated for working women. The #MotherhoodOnHold campaign shows us that for many, the decision to delay motherhood is mainly because of affordability.
At Changeincontent, we believe stories like this must lead to larger conversations. Motherhood will remain on hold until financial planning becomes a normal part of family planning, not an afterthought. It will stay on hold until workplaces are redesigned to support parents, not sideline them. And it will continue to be delayed until we stop expecting women to carry this burden alone.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content. We broadly define inclusivity as media, policies, law, and history, encompassing all elements that influence the lives of women and marginalised individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
