Prega News' #SheIsCompleteInHerself: When Silence Around Infertility Finally Found Its Voice

The rice pudding sat untouched on the kitchen counter. In the living room, excited voices discussed baby names—Aarav? Ananya? The joy was palpable, infectious. A younger daughter-in-law, newly pregnant, glowed with the attention. And in the doorway stood Lata, the elder daughter-in-law, her smile practiced, her participation genuine, her pain invisible.

When asked to suggest a name for the baby, Lata excused herself. "Let me get the kheer for everyone," she said, rising quickly. Too quickly. In that moment of escape, in that reflexive need to busy herself with serving others, lived a story that one in six couples in urban India knew intimately but rarely spoke about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huuwo-Yc2VA

This was the opening of Prega News' 2021 Women's Day campaign, released in late February ahead of International Women's Day on March 8. Featuring actress Mona Singh as Lata, the film tackled one of India's most taboo subjects: infertility. But more than that, it dared to ask a question that pregnancy test kit brands aren't supposed to ask: What about the women who never see those two positive lines?

The Campaign That Broke the Silence

Ahead of Women's Day on March 8, Prega News released a short ad film on YouTube focusing on the experiences of women with infertility, and how it affects their mental health. However, the ad attempts to highlight the significant message that a woman is complete in herself, and doesn't need a child to feel fulfilled.

The timing was strategic. Women's Day campaigns typically celebrate motherhood, fertility, new beginnings. Prega News, a pregnancy detection brand whose entire business model depends on positive pregnancy results, chose instead to honor the women for whom their product delivers disappointing news month after month, year after year.

The ad film features actress Mona Singh, as the elder daughter-in-law of the house, who is unable to conceive while her younger sister-in-law's pregnancy is being celebrated. The short video shows Mona Singh feeling the intense longing for a child. While the family is considering a possible name for the baby, Singh is asked the same but gets up on the pretext of fetching rice pudding for everyone.

In those few seconds—the question asked, the excuse made, the exit—the film captured what years of silence had hidden: the everyday microaggressions, the well-meaning inquiries that cut deep, the celebrations that remind you of your absence.

The Moment That Changed Everything

What happened next defined the campaign's message. Seeing this, the younger sister-in-law gets up and embraces the elder daughter-in-law, with everyone joining in to make her feel wanted.

This embrace wasn't pity. It wasn't consolation. It was recognition. The family wasn't saying "we're sorry you can't have children." They were saying "you are valued for who you are, not for your ability to reproduce."

The video featuring Mona Singh highlights how the issue of infertility impacts the mental health of women who are unable to conceive. With the aim to emphasise how it affects the emotional, mental, and physical well-being of women, the ad film contrives to spread a message about "celebrating every woman for who she is coz #SheIsCompleteInHerself", and doesn't need a child to feel fulfilled.

The Statistics Behind the Story

Sharing the video, Prega News wrote, "Infertility affects every 1 in 6 couples in India and the circumstances around them make them suffer in silence. This Women's Day, let's speak up about infertility issues – and make this world a better place for people battling infertility. Prega News urges you to celebrate every woman for who she is because #SheIsCompleteInHerself​."

The statistic was staggering: one in six couples. That meant in any gathering of friends, in any family reunion, in any workplace, infertility touched more lives than people acknowledged. Studies show that 1 in 6 couples in urban India battle infertility, yet conversations around it remained hushed, hidden.

The ad intends to evoke a sense of compassion among its audience, forcing them to think about and understand the pain of women who can't conceive. "One out of six couples in urban India battle infertility and its social, emotional, and physical consequences are harsher for women," show the ending credits of the ad film.

Why harsher for women? Because in India's deeply patriarchal society, fertility was seen as a woman's responsibility. Male infertility existed but was rarely discussed. When couples couldn't conceive, the blame, the pressure, the judgment fell disproportionately on wives.

The Creative Vision Behind the Campaign

Created by SG Dream Media comprising a young, dynamic team helmed by Shweta Sethi Bhuchar and Gaurav Bhardwaj, this ad came about during conversations with Prega News' team which wanted a campaign for Women's Day. They wanted "a film with a positive thought," shares Bhardwaj, the film's director. "We had actually given them three ideas and they loved this one. We were clear that we needed a film which will bring out the normal, everyday incidents of any woman's life."

The decision to focus on everyday incidents was crucial. The film didn't show Lata crying in her bedroom or undergoing medical treatments. It showed her at a family gathering, participating, smiling, serving. The tragedy wasn't in her dramatic suffering but in her everyday strength—the constant performance of normalcy while carrying invisible pain.

In the film Mona Singh (you may remember her as Jassi from the cult serial Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin) plays Lata, a school teacher, the elder daughter-in-law in a joint family, and a multi-tasker at home like any other woman. She is clearly the favourite bahu and bhabhi. So, when the younger daughter-in-law becomes pregnant and celebrations begin, Lata is participative and tries her level best to remain cheerful.

This characterization mattered. Lata wasn't portrayed as bitter or resentful. She genuinely loved her family. She truly felt happy for her sister-in-law. The complexity of holding joy for others while grieving for yourself—the film honored that emotional truth.

Mona Singh: The Perfect Choice

The casting of Mona Singh was strategic. Known for her role as Jassi in "Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin," Singh had built a career playing relatable, grounded women. She wasn't a glamorous Bollywood star; she was the girl next door who could have been anyone's sister, friend, colleague.

With International Women's Day round the corner, India's leading brand, Prega News have launched a campaign where they are highlighting on the sensitive topic of infertility. Like every year, this year too, Mankind Pharma have created a short video starring Mona Singh. It is an emotional video that will touch your hearts.

Singh's performance captured the internal struggle without melodrama. Her smile at the family gathering was real—and so was the pain that flickered across her face when she thought no one was watching. The video has been crafted beautifully. It urges people to be sensitive and understanding towards couple battling the issue of infertility.

The Viral Impact

The ad film, with a message about infertility, has already crossed a million views on YouTube, garnering praise for the subtle, yet powerful message it conveys. Viewers were touched with the concept of the video, while many women who have been afflicted with the same, found it extremely relatable.

Comments poured in from women who had never seen their experience reflected in media. One user wrote, "So beautifully captured the concept… Being mother is not the only thing that completes her… She has an identity to herself…", while another said, "Never think of this aspect, a woman has to face in our narrow minded orthodox Soceity…"

The response revealed how desperately this conversation was needed. For decades, women battling infertility had suffered in isolation, each believing her pain was unique, each carrying shame for something beyond her control. The campaign created space for collective acknowledgment.

Others were impressed with the message behind the ad which urged society to look beyond reproduction when viewing women. The campaign wasn't just about infertility—it was about expanding the definition of womanhood beyond biological function.

The Ending Message

"This Women's Day, Prega News embraces every woman for the completeness in herself," states the ending caption of the video. This line was revolutionary coming from a pregnancy test brand. Their product existed to detect pregnancy, yet their message celebrated women regardless of pregnancy outcomes.

Mankind Pharma, the company behind Prega News works out of a space of creating 'be kind' campaigns, and this latest film is easily the jewel in their crown. The "be kind" philosophy extended beyond marketing into genuine social advocacy.

Infertility and the burden of it is really an internal struggle and very much an issue that needs to be highlighted and talked about more often, and loudly. The campaign succeeded in making the invisible visible, the silent loud.

Five Lessons from Prega News' #SheIsCompleteInHerself Campaign

Lesson 1: Sometimes the Bravest Brand Message Is the One That Doesn't Sell Your Product

Prega News makes pregnancy tests. Their business depends on pregnancies. Yet their Women's Day campaign celebrated women who weren't—and might never be—pregnant. This counterintuitive approach built deeper brand trust than any product-focused ad could.

The lesson extends beyond marketing: true credibility comes from standing for values even when they don't serve immediate self-interest. When you prioritize purpose over profit, purpose becomes profitable. When you celebrate people regardless of whether they're your customers, you create loyalty that transcends transactions.

In work and life, resist the temptation to always center yourself in the narrative. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is honor experiences that don't directly benefit you.

Lesson 2: Normalize Conversations by Showing Normal Moments

The campaign didn't show Lata in a doctor's office or at a fertility clinic. It showed her at a family gathering, suggesting baby names, serving kheer. By placing infertility in everyday contexts rather than medical settings, the film normalized the experience.

Discussing infertility, there are hardly any conversations around. Yet the issue affects one in six couples. The silence existed because infertility was treated as medical condition rather than a human experience.

This lesson applies broadly: when you want to destigmatize something, show it in ordinary contexts. Mental health conversations advance when we show people managing anxiety at work, not just in therapy. Disability representation improves when we show wheelchair users living full lives, not just facing accessibility barriers.

Meet people where they are. Show struggles in the contexts where people actually live them. The extraordinary is often hidden in the ordinary.

Lesson 3: The Most Powerful Support Is Wordless Recognition

The younger sister-in-law's embrace didn't come with speeches or explanations. She simply got up, recognized Lata's pain, and offered presence. Everyone joining in to make her feel wanted required no dialogue. The message was in the gesture.

We live in a culture that wants to fix, explain, solve. But sometimes people don't need solutions—they need acknowledgment. The family didn't say "you'll have a baby someday" or "you can always adopt" or "at least you have a good career." They just held her.

When someone shares pain, resist the urge to immediately offer silver linings or solutions. Sometimes the kindest response is simply: "I see you. Your pain is real. You matter regardless of this struggle." Presence is often more powerful than advice.

Lesson 4: Redefine Completeness Beyond Traditional Markers

The campaign's hashtag #SheIsCompleteInHerself challenged fundamental assumptions about womanhood. A woman is complete in herself, and doesn't need a child to feel fulfilled. This wasn't just about infertility—it was about rejecting the idea that women's value derives from their reproductive capacity.

In our society, every 1 in 6 woman battles with this problem. The pressure from family and society, not only affects a woman's physical health, but also mental health. Her relationship with her partner also undergoes a monumental change.

The lesson transcends gender: we all face societal pressure to achieve certain milestones to be considered "complete"—marriage, children, home ownership, career success. But completeness is inherent, not earned. You are not a project to be finished. You are already whole.

Define success and fulfillment on your own terms, not society's checklist. Your worth isn't contingent on achieving traditional markers.

Lesson 5: Use Your Platform to Amplify Unheard Stories

Prega News had a platform—brand recognition, marketing budget, audience reach. They could have used Women's Day to celebrate motherhood and sell more pregnancy tests. Instead, they amplified voices and experiences rarely heard in mainstream advertising.

Sensitive portrayal of women in media, by media is an issue too and going forward we need to provide safe, non-judgmental spaces for our women so that they may prosper and we as a society evolve too.

The lesson for anyone with any degree of influence or platform: consider whose stories aren't being told. Who's absent from the conversation? What experiences are suffering in silence? Then use whatever platform you have—social media, workplace influence, community standing, family dynamics—to create space for those stories.

Power isn't just about what you can achieve for yourself; it's about what doors you can open for others.

The Lasting Impact

The campaign became part of a larger shift in how brands approached Women's Day advertising. Rather than generic celebration, companies began addressing real issues women faced. Rather than showing aspirational images, they showed authentic struggles.

For Prega News, the campaign reinforced their positioning as a brand that understood women's journeys in all their complexity—not just the positive pregnancy results, but the negative ones too. Not just the joy of motherhood, but the grief of wanting it and not having it.

Most importantly, for the one in six couples battling infertility, the campaign offered something precious: visibility. For a few minutes on screens across India, their struggle wasn't invisible. Their pain wasn't shameful. Their completeness wasn't conditional.

Lata stood in that doorway, rice pudding in hand, smile on face, surrounded by family celebrating a pregnancy that wasn't hers. And in that moment, she was seen—not pitied, not fixed, not dismissed, but truly seen.

The younger sister-in-law's embrace said what words often fail to convey: your struggle doesn't diminish you. Your inability to conceive doesn't define you. You are loved not for what you can produce, but for who you are.

The kheer was served. The family gathering continued. The baby names were chosen. And Lata remained—participating, loving, valued. Complete.

In living rooms across India, women watching that scene saw themselves. And perhaps, for the first time, they allowed themselves to believe what the campaign insisted: they too were complete. Not despite their infertility, but simply because completeness isn't something you earn or achieve. It's something you already are.

The campaign ended with its message emblazoned across screens: #SheIsCompleteInHerself. Not she will be complete when. Not she could be complete if. But she is. Present tense. Unconditional. Complete.

And in those four words—simple, direct, revolutionary—Prega News gave language to what millions of women needed to hear: You are enough. You are whole. You are complete. Exactly as you are.