Gone are the days when women when pregnant use to sit at home demanding fulfillment of their frequent cravings and whining about the lack in their social lives post pregnancy.

More and more pregnant women are now taking up hobbies or joining recreational classes to keep themselves in good spirits during the course of the nine months.

Bandita Banerjee, who recently delivered a baby girl shares, "It seemed very fruitless to just sit at home doing nothing just because you are pregnant. So four months into pregnancy, I joined a handicraft class at a nearby recreation centre where they taught me to make cord bags, belts, paper jewellery, home decoration items and much more. Besides keeping me engaged and happy during those initial months, I also gained a great deal of knowledge about handicrafts so it was a win-win solution for me."

Ankita Sharma, who is due to deliver in October, misses gardening, one of her favourite pass-times a lot and so she has taken to grafting bonsai plants. "Planting and grafting and taking care of bonsai plants usually does not require me to bend down or walk out till the garden a lot. I just do the grafting bit on a higher platform and then place it on some window sill. Easily manageable, it also makes the house look refreshing without much physical effort on my part," she says.

Well, as long as the mothers-to-be are happy and healthy, who can complain that when preggers, one should just take rest?