Mother’s Day 2026: How Priyanka Chopra and Nayanthara expanded the definition of motherhood

Mother’s Day 2026, falling on Sunday, May 10, has brought renewed attention to how motherhood is defined, as evolving choices in IVF, surrogacy and adoption continue to challenge traditional social expectations. Celebrity experiences have increasingly pushed public conversations beyond conventional ideas of childbirth, reshaping how motherhood is viewed today.

What defines motherhood?

What is motherhood, to be exact? Is motherhood really defined by carrying a child for nine months and experiencing the pain of labour? For years, that image was tied to motherhood. Does it make someone less motherly if they choose to adopt, or if they choose a form of assisted reproductive birth? Are they not worthy of motherhood if they can’t give birth?

All these doubts and questions would have arisen in any woman at some point in time. But if women had sat with those fears, worried about breaking societal norms, many would not have had the chance to see themselves as mothers. Even today, many are keen on knowing whether a woman gave birth through a “normal delivery” or used reproductive technologies. Does that really say something about her character?

Even though the world’s second IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) baby, Durga, was born in India just 67 days after the world’s first test tube baby, Louise Brown, taboos around reproductive technologies continue. Especially when a woman chooses that path, people often claim she is simply choosing the “easy way out.”

Stigma around assisted reproduction

It does not matter whether the father is infertile or faces reproductive difficulties. Still, the stigma remains much stronger for women than for men. You rarely see a father face the same level of questioning over surrogacy or the process of childbirth. Instead, the spotlight falls on women, revealing how deeply society connects womanhood to childbirth. The blame automatically falls on the mother for failing to be a woman or failing to do her duties. This taboo is slowly being challenged as many celebrities openly choose different paths to parenthood. Celebrity parenthood has often sparked online debates and become a controversial topic in daily life. Several high-profile individuals have welcomed children through assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as IVF and surrogacy, while openly speaking about their journeys.

In 2021, news spread widely about Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas welcoming their child through surrogacy. At the time, many people were still unfamiliar with the process, and celebrity discussions made them consider different reproductive techniques as possible options. Then came more news, from Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan welcoming twin boys through surrogacy in 2022, to television personalities Sambhavna Seth and Avinash Dwivedi expecting their first child through assisted reproductive techniques after 10 years of marriage, multiple failed IVF attempts, and a miscarriage.

Expanding meanings of motherhood

In reality, there is no such thing as a “normal delivery.” Many women who struggle with infertility, or those who have had their uterus surgically removed, often lose hope of becoming mothers. Constant criticism from society only leaves them emotionally drained. Some still question whether motherhood becomes less meaningful when pregnancy is not experienced directly. But what people fail to see is the years of treatment, hormonal changes, and emotional preparation women go through, mentally and physically, just for society to decide what is “natural” and what is not.

In reality, motherhood has several definitions. We only see the versions that appear on the surface and judge them based on that. But motherhood exists in many forms: adoptive mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, and even nannies who have long raised children through love rather than blood. Assisted reproductive methods simply expand the ways modern families are formed today. So why not leave it to women to choose how they want to experience motherhood, or whether they want to experience it at all?