Mast mast girl Raveena Tandon is busy getting back in shape for her forthcoming film Chassni. But that is not all that’s keeping the lady busy. A supporter of the safe motherhood initiative, Raveena has some tips and suggestions for young mothers. As a mother of two little kids, Tandon says that she realised the importance of eating healthy after her first delivery. “I had no problem during my deliveries because I ate healthy when I was pregnant. We all think these problems happen only at the rural level but even in affluent families, the mentality is to feed the sons and not the girls.”

The actress emphasised on the need for “nutrition, sanitation facilities, clean water and skilled medical assistance during delivery”.

She further says that as the ambassador for CRY, she was appalled when she went on field trips and found that women were not aware of folic acid, a cheap medicine that can prevent many hereditary diseases and deformations in infants.

“Besides that, I saw that women did not give adequate spacing between pregnancies. I was shocked to learn that there are 78,000 women who die giving birth every year in India. People are still marrying off their girls early and this leads to young motherhood and deaths,” she said.

Raveena, who has been working with children for a very long time, says that people in rural India need to be educated about the “importance of bringing healthy children in the world”. “I have always been very sensitive about this cause because I feel that children can’t speak up about their problems. I have been working for HIV infected kids since long and I completely understand what they go through. Everyone should reach out and help in whatever way they can.”