Couples taking counselling for marriage has been there forever. With globalisation, parenting also seems to have a manual. There is a wealth of information to be had from different sources. Now there are child birth educators and counsellors to take you through ante and post-natal classes. Motherhood studios have mushroomed in metros and parents are making a beeline for them.

Along with information, these studios offer yoga and Lamaze classes, access to fitness programs. Baby care includes information on massage, tips to put baby to sleep, calming an unsettled baby right from the first three months till the little one is around two years old.

Pointing to the changing scenario that leads parents to turn to professional help, Rakhi Kapoor who owns Dwi Studio says: “Nuclear families with both parents working, frequently lead to parenting issues as such and even in cases where the mother is a stay-at-home mom, the lack of support from family members leaves parents clueless as to how they to manage their children.”

Child psychologist, Mina Dilip says: “Parenting has undergone a sea change in the last few years. Our ancestors led simpler lives than we do. Our lifestyles have become sedentary and stress levels are soaring. As a result, more and more people seek professional advice to help them cope.”

Elders love to shower advice, but disagreements in parenting styles leave couples looking for other answers.

It is not just individuals who are trying to establish their hold in this high potential area. Even retail spaces sense an opportunity and have moved into baby care. Mahindra Retail Pvt. Ltd. with Mom’s Lounge offers information from pregnancy to post child birth and includes access to a child psychologist to deal with baby blues. Says it’s Business Head, child birth educator and pregnancy specialist, Anika Puri: “We have from the very start seen ourselves as providing a complete solution. We also provide free advice twice a week in the form of parenting forums in all our stores where our customer can access childbirth professionals and seek tips and advice.”

Today, motherhood and parenting has an entire market tailored around it. Becoming a mother today is seen as a phase that needs counselling, professional help and a stage that a woman can associate with herself and her baby.