Leave it to Meghan Markle to ignite an emotional discussion among fans, critics and women with their own “scary” pregnancy stories after she said Tuesday that she had suffered a rare but potentially life-threatening condition after the birth of one of her two children.
Meghan’s latest disclosure about a personal crisis came during the debut episode of her her new podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder.” As the Duchess of Sussex and her good friend, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, talked about starting a business, she dropped in the news that she, liked Wolfe Herd, had dealt with postpartum preeclampsia while trying to “juggle” motherhood and everything else in life.
“It’s so rare and so scary,” Meghan said about the condition, which the Mayo Clinic said occurs shortly after a woman gives birth. It is marked by high blood pressure and excess protein in the blood, and it can lead to seizures, severe headaches and even a stroke or blood clot.
“And you’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly,” the former TV actor continued. “And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children — but those things are huge medical scares.”
But Meghan offered no details about this medical crisis — including whether the condition arose after the 2019 birth or Archie or the 2021 birth of Lilibet. From online reactions, the news definitely came as a surprise to those who avidly follow her and her husband, Prince Harry — though Meghan said she tried to keep her condition “quiet” at the time.
Still, it was surprising to some that Meghan’s condition didn’t come up in Harry’s memoir, “Spare.” In the book, the prince wrote in some detail about both of his children’s joyous and seemingly uncomplicated births.
Harry furthermore wrote about Meghan coping with another pregnancy-related crisis. In the summer of 2020, she suffered a miscarriage, a few months after the couple left royal duties and shortly after they moved into their Montecito mansion. “She collapsed onto the floor,” he wrote. “There was much blood.”
During Archie’s birth in London’s Portland hospital, Harry revealed that Meghan’s labor was induced and she got an epidural after the pain became too “much.” Meanwhile, he described how he famously took hits of his laboring wife’s laughing gas.
Harry also described how Archie’s head began to emerge. He said he saw the baby’s umbilical cord wrapped around his neck — a relatively common occurrence but a potential emergency. Archie, though, came out fine, and Harry said he and Meghan swept him up into their arms as they tearfully greeted him into the world. Harry also wrote that they left the hospital almost immediately and were back home at Frogmore Cottage “within two hours.”
As for Lilibet’s birth in a Santa Barbara hospital, Harry’s said: “It was slightly easier this time. Maybe because we were an ocean away from the old chaos and stress. When the big day came we were both surer, calmer — steadier.”
Harry again offered details about Meghan pushing the baby out and the moment he got to hold his “precious daughter” for the first time. He also described the two of them later taking Lilibet home and settling “into all the new rhythms of a family of four.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, most cases of postpartum preeclampsia develop within 48 hours of giving birth. The condition is similar to the preeclampsia that develops during pregnancy — which resolves itself after childbirth.
In some cases, postpartum preeclampsia can take up to six weeks or more to develop — in which case it would be known as late postpartum preeclampsia, the Mayo Clinic said. Along with high blood pressure or headaches, other symptoms include changes in vision, pain in the upper belly, nausea and vomiting and shortness of breath.
Postpartum preeclampsia requires prompt treatment; otherwise it can lead to serious complications, the Mayo Clinic said. Risk factors include having chronic high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes, experiencing high blood pressure during pregnancy or giving birth to multiples.
Meghan’s mention of having postpartum preeclampsia — however brief — was celebrated by women who say they also had it.
“We need to talk about postpartum preeclampsia more,” said one of the many women commenting on a People magazine Facebook post about Meghan’s medical crisis claim. “I didn’t know it was a thing and had it after the birth of my first child. Had to stay in the hospital for almost a whole week and leave on very high dose blood pressure medication. It was very scary.”
“It’s not discussed enough. I very easily could’ve stroked out and died,” another woman said. One of the reasons my son is an only child. It was scary … and some of y’all are laughing, y’all need education and an (expletive) kicking.”
This woman seems to be referring to others online who expressed skepticism about whether the crisis unfolded in the way Meghan briefly described it.
In response, the skeptics argued that neither she nor Harry ever mentioned the condition before, even though Meghan also wrote about having a miscarriage in a New York Times op-ed.
These skeptics, bottom line, questioned whether Meghan was looking for another way to get attention or to generate sympathy.
They pointed to her history of describing or exaggerating personal hardships or accomplishments that have been disputed by other people — such as growing up poor, despite her middle-class Los Angeles childhood, her “secret” marriage to Harry several days before their royal wedding, or her description of how Black people in South Africa supposedly celebrated her wedding to Harry like they rejoiced in Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. Meghan and Harry critic Megyn Kelly devoted a 2023 episode of her her Sirius XM show to, “The Many Lies of Meghan Markle: The Duchess of Duplicity.”
“Funny this only came out now,” another person wrote on the People magazine Facebook post. This person also referred to Meghan previously being wiling to write about her miscarriage. “Hard to believe anything that she says.”
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