Telugu actor Ram Charan and his wife, entrepreneur Upasana Konidela, became parents on June 20, 2023. Their daughter Klin Kaara is now more than a year old. In a recent interview with The Nod, Upasana spoke about having her daughter in a luxury birthing suite at Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. Also read: Upasana Konidela shares video from maternity ward
‘Luxuries of home, while being in a hospital’
Upasana said, “I wanted to deliver in an atmosphere that was [like] a hotel and had the luxuries of home, while being in a hospital… then I said, why only me? I think all women should have that experience.” The result was a set of luxury birthing suites — soon to be a floor at the Apollo Hospital — which opened in June 2023.
More about the luxury birthing suite
Mumbai-based Pavitra Rajaram spoke about how she designed the 1,200sq ft home-like suite – that would not be out of place in a luxury hotel – at the Hyderabad hospital.
As per the report, the most private is the patient’s room, in which all technology is discreetly tucked away behind panels; nearby is a nurse’s station. There’s also a partner or carer’s room, which has a viewing window to check in on the mother. There are also public areas – the dining and living room – to accommodate visitors. A spa-style bathroom and a powder room finish off the suite, which has a palette of white to create a sense of serenity.
The report also gave details of a boutique hospital started by Upasana’s family, Apollo Cradle Royale, in South Delhi in October 2023. At both the Delhi and Hyderabad centres, hotel-trained chefs provide a customised menu, there’s a round-the-clock dedicated nurse, and, in Hyderabad, a dedicated doctor for the mother.
‘Childbirth as important as a wedding’
Speaking about her family’s hospitals, which offer candlelit dinners by hotel-trained chefs to spa-like bathrooms, Upasana said, “Childbirth is as important or more important than a wedding… people think of it as routine, but you don’t know what women go through to get pregnant, during their pregnancy, and during postpartum. So I think that more than a wedding, having a baby should be celebrated.”
Ram and Upasana tied the knot on June 14, 2012. The two announced her pregnancy in December 2022.