Accepted Panels

The study focuses on the work of women both formal (paid) and domestic (unpaid) within the backdrop the Covid 19 pandemic. In India with the imposition of the national lockdown in March 2020, the separation of work and home got blurred. Work by definition for these women was not limited to the paid services but also extended to the unpaid services of household chores and childcare. The absence of paid care worker created more anxieties on women as mothers and paid professionals. The research tries to explore the struggles of mothering and the professional requirements and its effect on mental health of these women. The coping mechanism, the role of partners and the extended families; further the fear of the pandemic and its effect on their children.   The study focuses on three working mothers from different categories (one expecting her first child, the other already a mother and expecting her second and third a working mother with a toddler) and their negotiations in their everyday lives.