‘The world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly’: Meghan reveals medical scare

The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she suffered from a rare “life or death” birth complication after having one of her children.

Meghan, 43, said she experienced postpartum pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition where high blood pressure and protein in the urine develop after childbirth.

Meghan, pictured while pregnant with her daughter Lilibet in 2021, has revealed she suffered from pre-eclampsia.Credit: AP

Speaking on her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan said she and her interviewee, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, “had very similar experiences” with the condition.

“Though we didn’t know each other at the time … we both had pre-eclampsia, postpartum pre-eclampsia,” the duchess said.

The pair, who have become close friends, have two children of similar ages.

‘So rare and so scary’

The duchess did not clarify if the condition occurred for her after the birth of her son, Prince Archie, 5, in 2019, or for the birth of her daughter Princess Lilibet, 3, in 2021. However, she said the condition is “so rare and so scary”, adding: “You’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly.

“And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people, mostly for your children, but those things are huge medical scares.”

Wolfe Herd, who has two sons, described the condition as “life or death, truly”.

Britain’s National Health Service website states that pre-eclampsia can lead to a risk of serious complications that can affect both the mother and newborn, although most cases cause no problems and improve soon after the baby is delivered.

The Sydney Children’s Hospital network states that it affects five to eight per cent of pregnancies in Australia and, in severe cases, can be threatening to both mother and baby.

Parental pay-offs of working from home

Elsewhere in the discussion, Meghan said that working from home allowed her to be a better mother to her two children.

The duchess told the dating app founder that both motherhood and building a business were “just as important” to her.

She said: “We became mums in this pandemic, post-pandemic culture, where there is so much working from home … I don’t leave the house to go to an office, my office is here.”

She added that Lilibet napped in her lap during Zoom meetings with executives but that she “wouldn’t have it any other way”.

The duchess explained: “I don’t want to miss those moments. I don’t want to miss pick-up if I don’t have to. I don’t want to miss drop-off, and I think what I love the most about having young kids in this chapter while I’m building is the perspective that it brings.

“Because you’re building something while your child is going through potty training … and both are just as important.”

Wolfe Herd, who became the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire at 31 years old, added that “nothing comes before” being a mother.

‘Twists and turns’ of business

The discussion marked the first episode of the duchess’s new eight-part podcast with Lemonada Media, for which she interviews notable female entrepreneurs about the “twists and turns of building a business”.

The release comes after the first collection of products for her new lifestyle brand, As Ever, sold out within an hour of going live.

The “seasonal” collection included wildflower honey with honeycomb priced at $US28 ($46.90), a $US14 jar of raspberry jam, and decorative flower sprinkles for $US15.

The duchess’s first launch, comprising eight products, is described as “a glimpse” into her approach to “elevated, everyday living and is inspired by her long-lasting love of cooking, entertaining and hostessing with ease”.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Wolfe Heard described the duchess as “such an amazing hostess”, saying: “When you go to your home, you’re just engulfed in love and cosiness and yumminess.

“Both from just the energy and the surroundings to the things you feed us and the way you treat us.”

The Telegraph UK

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