“Supporters are praising Meghan Markle for coming forward and discussing her experience losing a pregnancy in July. In an emotional essay for The New York Times called “The Losses We Share,” that Duchess of Sussex wrote that she knew something “was not right” when she was holding her son, Archie, one morning. “After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp,” she said. “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.” “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” Meghan said. The duchess said that “losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.” “Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning,” Meghan added. “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 miscarriage.” Shortly after the piece was published, supporters began praising Meghan for not only sharing her story of loss, but for doing so despite facing “almost unsurvivable” online hate over the past few years. When I had a miscarriage, I remember scouring the internet for articles by women who had been through the same thing. Because reading that you’re not alone is helpful and it’s comforting. So thank you to Meghan Markle for writing about something so difficult— Anita Singh (@anitathetweeter) November 25, 2020 That Meghan Markle could write about her miscarriage knowing that it would add fuel to the fire of the demons who want her demise, makes her even more of a queen.— Monisha Rajesh (@monisha_rajesh) November 25, 2020 Chrissy Teigen and the Duchess of Sussex speaking openly about something that historically has given women so much pain, shame and trauma, is a game-changing step. I, and countless others, am so grateful to them. Beyond that, I simply want to tell them: I am so, so sorry. https://t.co/G7RNXKylco— Elizabeth Day (@elizabday) November 25, 2020 A beautiful, thoughtful & moving piece — sending so much love. You just don’t know what people are going through. Even while experiencing such personal loss, Meghan & Harry showed up powerfully for racial justice. They lead w/ so much compassion & empathy. https://t.co/BbWGTVZIXk— Rashad Robinson (@rashadrobinson) November 25, 2020 Miscarriage is physically and emotionally painful. Anyone being anything but kind to Megan Markle right now needs to have a serious look at themselves. If you want to say the right thing to someone who has miscarried but don’t know how, see👇https://t.co/S9qVV9jJvZ #miscarriage pic.twitter.com/9pAaYOwUET— Sarah Owen MP (@SarahOwen_) November 25, 2020 As someone who suffered a #miscarriage myself, I am so proud to see #Meghan Markle sharing her experience. There is so much secrecy around baby loss & this leaves women without support during a significantly traumatic time. Talking about her loss will help many other women 💕— RCL (@RedRosie11) November 25, 2020 To people saying: ‘why is Meghan Markle sharing her story if she doesn’t want negative media attention?’ It is very simple: there is a difference between sharing your own pain, and having others cause it. You have a right to your own truth. And a right to tell it.— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) November 25, 2020 In addition to Meghan, two other members of the royal family have experienced and spoken about their own pregnancy loss. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who is married to Queen Elizabeth’s son Prince Edward, also experienced pregnancy loss in 2001. “I’m obviously very sad — but it was just not meant to be,” she said at the time, according to the BBC. “But there will be other chances”. Zara Tindall, the queen’s granddaughter and daughter of Princess Anne, spoke about having a miscarriage in an interview with the Sunday Times in 2016. “For me, the worst bit was that we had to tell everyone — everyone knew,” the British equestrian said. “I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along. I then had another miscarriage really early on.” “It was a time when my family came to the fore and I needed them,” Tindall added. “You need to go through a period where you don’t talk about it because it’s too raw, but, as with everything, time’s a great healer.”
