INDIA, December 16, 2023 (New York Times): Want to raise a child with the business acumen of the industrial tycoon Ratan Tata, the concentration powers of the spiritual guru Swami Vivekananda, the scientific brilliance of the nuclear hero A. P. .J. Abdul Kalam and — of course — the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi? In India, there is an app for that. In fact, there are many apps. For centuries, India’s mothers have drawn from rich cultural and religious traditions to pass down a store of knowledge to guide child-rearing. Underpinning this maternal inheritance is a practice known as garbh sanskar, in which the nurturing of a child, and the creation of an environment conducive to instilling a Hindu value system, begins in the womb. But in today’s India, the ancient ways alone are no longer sufficient. A new kind of business is taking off, largely from the entrepreneurial western state of Gujarat, catering to mothers-to-be in a country that is rushing headlong into a digital future.

Startups big and small are offering apps that combine traditional prenatal and postnatal guidance with scientific research, weaving in wellness practices and dietary plans, as well as daily developmental activities like yoga, meditation, art, story reading and lullabies. It is all packaged in a slick interface for a generation that answers more readily to reminders from smartphones than from mothers-in-law. In the process, the smartphone — blamed for luring young Indians away from traditions and easing the spread of the worst kind of hate and division — is put to the service of retaining the best of values. Devices associated with rising loneliness are programmed not only to help women cope with a period of intense anxiety and stress, but also to improve couples’ bonding by bringing some structure to the pregnancy whirlwind.

Much more at source.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/16/world/asia/india-baby-apps-garbh-sanskar.html

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