For many women, motherhood begins long before a child is placed in their arms. It begins in hope, in waiting, in heartbreak, and in the quiet strength it takes to keep believing. For Rishina Bansal, that understanding is not just professional; it is deeply personal. As a clinical embryologist who has helped countless couples navigate the emotional complexities of fertility treatment, and as a mother who has herself experienced the uncertainty of IVF, she approaches every patient journey with rare empathy and compassion. In this heartfelt conversation with The CEO Magazine, she reflects on motherhood, resilience, and the responsibility of holding someone else’s dream with care.

TCM: What does being a mother mean to you—both personally and professionally?

Rishina: Being a mother is the most humbling thing that has ever happened to me. Personally, it changed me in ways I didn't expect. It made me softer, more patient, and infinitely more grateful. Professionally, it gave me a lens I couldn't have gained with any degree or training. Every embryo I work with in the lab is someone's dream. Motherhood taught me to hold that dream with both hands, every single day.

TCM: You’ve helped so many become parents. How did your own IVF journey change you as a woman and as a professional?

Rishina: It humbled me completely. I was a trained embryologist, and I knew the science inside out. But when I was on the other side of the process, the mind wanders and the fear is real. This made me realise that there is so much fear around fertility. Now, when I speak to patients as a professional, apart from being technical, I approach them with compassion because I understand how it feels.

TCM: What was the most emotional moment in your journey to becoming a mother?

Rishina: The moment they placed my baby in my arms. Everything I had been through, every injection, every wait, every anxious morning, dissolved in that second. I remember thinking, this is why I do what I do. This is why it has to be done with love, not just science.

TCM: What does it feel like to help someone become a mother?

Rishina: It never gets ordinary. Not once. Every positive beta, every heartbeat on the scan, every baby that comes into the world through our hands still makes me emotional. There's a particular kind of joy in being part of someone's most private miracle. It's not something you can explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. You just feel it, right in the centre of your chest.

TCM: Do you remember a patient story that touched your heart deeply?

Rishina: There are so many, but one stays with me. A woman came to us after six failed cycles at other centres. She was exhausted, not just physically, but emotionally. She had almost convinced herself it wasn't meant to be. We took our time with her. We listened. We didn't rush her into another protocol. And when she finally got pregnant, she didn't call to say, “It worked.” She called just to cry. No words, just tears. I cried with her. That phone call lives with me.

TCM: How has motherhood shaped the way you support your patients today?

Rishina: It made me slow down. I know now that what a patient needs most in the middle of treatment isn't always more information. Sometimes, it's just someone who says, “I see you, I understand, and I'm not giving up on you.” My own journey gave me that understanding. I never skip that part now.

TCM: What do you do differently now because you’ve been in your patients’ shoes?

Rishina: I never use clinical language to deliver hard news without also offering hope. I know what it feels like to hear difficult things in a cold, matter-of-fact way. It can shatter you. So, I choose my words carefully. I sit with people in the hard moments instead of moving quickly to the next step. And I always remind them that one difficult result is not the end of the story.

TCM: Working in fertility for years, what gaps in patient care did you feel needed to change?

Rishina: Empathy was missing systemically. Fertility care had become very protocol-driven and transactional. Patients were moving through appointments without anyone really asking how they were feeling. The emotional and psychological weight of infertility was almost invisible in most setups. I felt strongly that this had to change. Science alone cannot heal someone who is broken inside from years of trying and failing.

TCM: What inspired you to build your own fertility centre with a more empathetic approach?

Rishina: My husband, Navin Desai – who is also a clinical embryologist and co-founder of Archish – and I had been discussing this long before Archish even existed. We kept asking ourselves, what would the fertility centre we wished we had looked like? What would it feel like to walk through those doors and not feel like a number? The answer became Archish. We wanted to build a place where the culture was rooted in compassion, where every person who walked in felt seen, respected, and genuinely cared for. Five years later, that is still the soul of everything we do.

TCM: This Mother’s Day, what message do you want to give to every hopeful mother?

Rishina: Your longing is not weakness. It is one of the most powerful forces in the world. I know the wait feels unbearable some days. I know the grief of each failed cycle can feel like it will break you. But please don't stop believing in yourself. Your body has been through so much, and so has your heart. Keep going. There are people like us who will walk every step of this journey with you, who will not give up even on the days you want to. And when your miracle comes, and it will, it will be worth every single moment of the wait. Happy Mother’s Day to every woman brave enough to keep hoping.