“India has finally stepped into the field of preventive health care in the last decade and thanks to social media, the need for awareness has increased. I personally feel that the importance of lifestyle, hormones and sexual health is found to be less discussed in India.“ Today’s woman dreamer, Dr. Sheetal Sabharwal is a dedicated OBGYN with over 22 years of experience. With a passion for improving and innovating women’s healthcare in India, she shares her perspective on the key women’s health issues in India today, her journey with pioneering water birthing in India, and her next big dream! Join us for this informative Women’s Health Wednesday!

By Khushee Nanavati

1.You have had an inspiring journey as a woman in healthcare, particularly with women’s health. Tell us about your journey and your interest in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

I have been in the field of OBGYN for the past 22 years. I chose this field for 2 reasons: 

Firstly, the career felt like it was the perfect mix of medicine and surgery as we need to have ample knowledge of medicine as well as the skill set of a good surgeon, thereby creating great diversity and challenges for the doctor and preventing the monotony that doctors face after many years of being in practice.

Secondly, I enjoy the thrill of bringing life into this world and being a part of not only the patient’s, but an  entire family’s joy. Also, an obstetrician is part of a patient's life for a minimum period of 10 months to a year and I thoroughly enjoy that connection because most other faculties probably have limited interaction for the duration of illness or annual follow ups.

2. You have a passion for awareness and preventative care.  What are some common conditions you see in women's health in India that need to be addressed?  What are some topics for which you would like to raise awareness?

India has finally stepped into the field of preventive health care in the last decade and thanks to social media, the need for awareness has increased. I personally feel that the importance of lifestyle, hormones and sexual health is found to be less discussed in India. Until 20 years ago, aging in India was synonymous with menopause i.e. at the age of 45 to 50 years. In the west, that is the age when most women begin to live their lives post retirement, including traveling or re-exploring sexual interests. Sexual health was unspoken of in India until 5 years ago and I personally have felt that discussing it more openly and forthcomingly during routine check ups has helped benefit many of my patients. Also I believe that weight gain, menopause and lack of exercise, along with highlighting the importance of all of these requires a lot of push among women in India. 

3. You pioneered Water Births (also known as Underwater deliveries) in 2003 in Mumbai. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the water births?  Also, what are some reasons one would consider this over a traditional delivery?

We pioneered water births in India the year we started our nursing home - a 15 bedded facility dedicated to OBGYN in Khar, Mumbai. Both Dr. Punjabi and I felt the need to do something more in the field of Obstetrics. We were speaking to my brother Dr. Jay Pandya, who was practicing homeopathy in Hong Kong at the time, who spoke to us of natural birth and water births being practiced at the center where he worked. We truly liked the idea of water births and wanted to promote it in our center under medical supervision. 

We were also entering a time where the world was shrinking and knowledge across continents was being shared, so we felt that in a country like India, where we are believers of multiple medical practices including Ayurveda and homeopathy, why not encourage the idea of minimally invasive natural births? Hence, we decided to offer it to our patients at Tulip Women's Health Care Centre (our nursing home) and as they say, the rest has been history. With more than 100 water births to our credit, the experience has definitely been very empowering and enriching.

Water birth has distinct advantages: 

(1) pain relief upto 50 to 80 percent without the use of medication 

(2) shortening the length of labor - patients enter the pool at about 3 to 4 cms of dilation and deliver usually within 3 hours, which otherwise would normally take 6 to 7 hours without the use of any labor augmentation drugs 

(3) transition for the baby from water into water is smooth and reduces trauma for the baby from harsh light, sounds and other environmental factors

(4) Lastly, the emotional bond when a mother sees her baby being born in the pool and witnesses it swimming for a few seconds  - which doesn't happen in a birthing chair or bed - is truly heartwarming. 

4. Can you talk about your work - life balance between children, family, career and taking time for yourself and your personal growth?

Working women face the challenge of experiencing immense guilt which is the only constant concern in the work-life family balance, and clearly I was no exception to this because right around the time that I was ready for private practice, my biological clock was ticking away, so I started my nursing home and private practice while being 12 weeks pregnant. The only mantra that truly helped me through this is spare time for your children and family because success can come a few years later  but the growing years of your children will not. My partner at work - Dr. Rajeev Punjabi - and I fortunately had the same belief and always knew  that there had to be more to life than just work and money. So we balanced it for each other, allowing us to give enough time to our families while we grew our practice simultaneously. 

Today, after 20 years in our joint practice, we continue to pursue our hobbies and lives with our families and are at a very satisfying stage in our careers. I think it is important for all of us to find happiness in what we do because only happiness can reduce the burden of guilt we will always carry as women who work. 

5. What is a personal or professional dream you hope to achieve?

Professionally, I think I'm very happy where I am, and hence the goal I have for myself is to never retire and to keep working until I physically can - not having age be the determinant. 

As a personal dream, I’ve always wanted to write a book - a light read, a more humorous take on the lives of women, and maybe on aging. Also, I hope to explore atleast 2 new hobbies that I can pursue as I grow older. I truly believe that learning is constant and the more diversity in learning, the more growth there is for individuals.