PhD or motherhood? Both. At IIT Bombay, scholar carves out room for research — and her toddler

Henna K Seethi with her son Omi on the IIT Bombay campus. (Express Image)

On days when her nanny cannot come, 29-year-old Henna K Seethi waits until the students have left the lab before bringing her son Omi to the campus.

Her job at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay begins in the evening, and sometimes stretches late into the night. As she dives into her work, her toddler plays or sleeps nearby. The lab has a bed, a bowl, and a blanket — enough, she says, to feed and put him to sleep. At one-and-a-half years old, the boy has become a familiar presence among her research colleagues.

“The atmosphere in the lab is very friendly. Everyone is so welcoming,” says Henna, a PhD scholar in Health and Medical Psychology in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.

For Henna, balancing research, travel, and motherhood is also about not giving up on the dreams she has seen her mother sacrifice. “I don’t want to see my baby as a hurdle in pursuing anything. Would I be doing this if I were single, or were not a mother? If the answer is yes, I’ll make it happen somehow now also,” she said.

Henna cleared the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) in 2023 and wanted to pursue research in psycho-oncology. She completed her BSc in Psychology from Farook College, Calicut, an MA in Applied Psychology from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and an MPhil in Psycho-Oncology from the Cancer Institute, Adyar.

Her son was born in January 2025. He was three months old when she cleared the entrance examination and moved to Mumbai. Even though life may have felt hopeful then, her difficulties did not end there.

Henna K Seethi takes part in activities at IIT Bombay

“Married students who need campus accommodation have to wait for an apartment. Until then, Omi and I live in Bhandup, around five kilometres away. Rent, childcare and the cost of living in Mumbai make my husband’s financial support necessary,” she said. Her husband, Muhammed Nizam ul Haq, also a psychologist, works in Kerala.

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The emotional strain, she said, is harder to explain. “When I give time to my baby, I feel like I’m not doing proper justice to my research. When I’m doing my work, I feel guilty about being a mother. I am never at peace.”

But she cannot take her child anywhere she wants. Before taking Omi to her classes, she takes permission from her professors. Most, she said, have agreed.

During class, Heena keeps the boy in a stroller and takes him outside if he cries. Her mentor has also allowed her to bring him to meetings.

“The campus has become a support system. When my nanny returned to Kerala for several months after a bereavement, I requested temporary accommodation during the end-semester examinations. I was eventually allotted a single hostel room with the dean’s permission.”

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IIT Bombay PhD scholar Henna K Seethi balances her research work with caring for her toddler.

But life gets a little tougher during exams.

“During examinations, the arrangement is more difficult. Once, Nizam travelled from Kerala to look after Omi. On another occasion, two students offered to babysit. I fed him, put him to sleep and left him with them. He slept for two hours; when he woke up, they played with him until I finished.”

The support has not removed the pressure of being a researcher and a mother. Seethi says she had episodes of postpartum blues lasting a month or two after the birth. She also takes therapy through the Student’s Wellness Centre on campus, where psychologists offer psychotherapy.

For now, her days remain unpredictable. But she hopes that once Omi turns two and they move into campus accommodation, life will become more routine. Until then, she continues to bring him along when she can. “I just don’t want my child to be the reason that I don’t do anything in my life. That’s the reason why I do everything.”