“Sitting in a hospital bed, watching my husband’s heartbreak as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine, I realized that the only way to begin to heal is to first ask, ‘Are you OK?’”, writes the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle in a moving New York Times Op-Ed.
In a piece titled ‘The Losses We Share’, Meghan opened up about the unbearable grief of her and Prince Harry. The former actress shared a detailed account of going through a miscarriage and losing her second unborn child, after her first son Archie, in July this year.
Image Credit: TOI
Recounting the unfortunate incident, Meghan wrote, “It was a July morning that began as ordinarily as any other day: Make breakfast. Feed the dogs. Take vitamins. Find that missing sock. Pick up the rogue crayon that rolled under the table. Throw my hair in a ponytail before getting my son from his crib. After changing his diaper, I 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 (sic).”
Early this year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had stepped down as senior royals with an intention to work and become financially independent, and focus on their new charitable entity.
Image Credit: TOI
She continued, “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second. Hours later, 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 (sic).”
Image Credit: TOI
Describing how conversations around miscarriage are still taboo, Meghan writes, “Losing a child means carrying almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few. 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 (sic).”
Be it speaking about this year’s presidential election or supporting the Black Lives Matter protests, Meghan has never shied away from speaking her mind and has always been exemplary when it comes to breaking taboos and defying norms. And she’s done it again by making a very personal disclosure about her private life, unlike other members of the British royal family. Somehow we are still hush-hush about conversations around miscarriage or stillbirths, riddled with stigma leaving women to feel isolated. Women rarely get the support they need and are often held responsible for the loss of their child.
To see Meghan open up about social stigmas makes us believe she’s a beacon of hope and of course, a role model for all women.
Lead Image Credits: TOI
