Meghan Markle in Melbourne. Photo: Getty
Meghan Markle has penned an emotional open letter in the New York Times, revealing the heartache she suffered following a tragic miscarriage in July earlier this year.
In the letter, poignantly titled The Losses We Share, the Duchess of Sussex bravely recounts the event which took place in summer this year. Markle notes she began to experience “a sharp cramp” while caring for her young son Archie.
“I dropped down to the floor with him in my arms,” she wrote. “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
The Duchess goes on to explain that while receiving treatment in hospital, she was reminded of a moment when she and her husband, Prince Harry were finishing their royal tour in South Africa and a journalist asked her the question, “Are you OK?”. At the time, this was a moment that captivated the world, because Markle’s response, “Thank you for asking. Not many people have asked if I’m OK.”
As she recalled the encounter, she wrote, “Sitting in a hospital bed, watching my husband’s heart break 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?'”
This question of healing sees Markle reflect on significant global movements and moments in 2020. She specifically refers to the many challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and also discusses George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, referencing the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Duchess of Sussex with Prince Harry and baby Archie
Expressing her thoughts that the world is currently divided, the 39-year-old states her belief that through asking people how they are, and sharing our struggles, we can truly begin to heal.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” she writes. “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. In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”
For more support on pregnancy and infant loss, visit: Lighthouse Arabia, Small and Might Babies, Little Feather Collective, Baby Loss Awareness
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