Following criticism that her Netflix show lacked substance, Meghan Markle surprised listeners of her new Confessions of a Female Founder podcast by revealing she’d suffered “rare and scary” postpartum pre-eclampsia after childbirth, but didn’t say whether it was after Archie, five, or Lilibet, three.
“You’re still trying to juggle all these things and the world doesn’t know what is happening, quietly, and in the quiet you are still trying to show up for people,” she shared, while chatting to guest Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of dating app Bumble. Kim Thomas, CEO of the UK’s Birth Trauma Association, a charity that supports women and families after traumatic births, told the Mirror that complications such as Meghan’s can leave women reliving their trauma for years.
As well as childbirth being such a memorable major life event, the effects of any trauma can be compounded by the expectation that it should be a positive experience, she said, telling us, “So when something goes wrong or isn’t expected, as in Meghan’s case, it can almost be doubly traumatic, and can feel extra shocking.” She also praised Meghan for speaking out about her experience as it might help other women “feel less alone”.
Mum of two Meghan described what it was like dealing with the pre-eclampsia while also juggling a new baby, adding: “In the quiet you’re still trying to show up mostly for your children. But those things are huge medical scares.”
Kim says she welcomes conversations around the topic, but acknowledges they can be difficult, especially for women in the public eye. “It’s been great that quite a lot of high-profile women have spoken out about their birth traumas because it can make others feel less alone, but there’s never an expectation on them that they must speak about it.
“It can be difficult for all women, but especially women like Meghan who are in the public eye and they have been through something awful, something traumatic, and yet the public expects them to be out and about, probably wearing a nice dress and waving, because they’re not aware of what they’ve been through.”
On the day of the podcast launch, Prince Harry, 40, was attending the Court of Appeal to challenge the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision to change the level his taxpayer-funded security protection when he’s in the UK. Harry’s barrister actually addressed the duke’s presence in court and away from his family, saying it was a clear indication of “how much this appeal means to him and his family.”
Speaking during the two-day appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice last week, Shaheed Fatima KC, acting for Harry, delivered some very strong words about the seriousness of his case. “There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security, and whose life is at stake,” she said.
“There is a person sitting behind me who is being told he is getting a special bespoke process when he knows and has experienced a process that is manifestly inferior in every respect.”
If you’ve been affected by any issues in this story, contact The Birth Trauma Association via www.birthtraumaassociation.org or 0203 621 6338.
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