“In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from [a] miscarriage. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”
Meghan Markle
(CMR) Duchess of Sussex, wife of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, revealed that earlier in July 2020 she had suffered a miscarriage.
39-year-old Markle shared the deeply personal incident in a New York Times opinion piece in which she described the pregnancy loss as unbearable grief.
While miscarriages aren’t uncommon, Markle shared that the subject matter remains taboo.
According to Markle, she was changing her now one-year-old son, Archie’s diaper when she felt a sharp cramp.
“I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right,” Meghan wrote.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
Markle explained that she woke up from the pain in a hospital bed. “Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband's hand,” she said.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” she added.
The former actress and member of Britain's royal family described the difficulty of losing her second child and reflected on the hardships of the past year in the deeply personal piece.
“I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband's hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we'd heal,” she wrote.
Markle referenced the fact that approximately 10% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. She shared that simply asking someone if they are ok and truly listening can bridge the gap and lead to a healing process.
Early this year, the couple announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America. The Duchess also used the occasion to share her thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic, structural racism and the 2020 US presidential election.
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