November 30. 2020

Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, recently shared her story regarding a miscarriage she experienced in July of this year. Meghan is among many women who have experienced the sadness and pain of a miscarriage. It is not uncommon. In fact, other members of the royal family have experienced a miscarriage. Zara Phillips, the Queen's award winning equestrian granddaughter, experienced a miscarriage. Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, the Queen's daughter-in-law, suffered a miscarriage as well.

Meghan wrote an article for the New York Times regarding the miscarriage she experienced and in the piece she stated, "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."

Meghan further stated, "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. I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."

STORY SOURCE

The Losses We Share

Perhaps the path to healing begins with three simple words: Are you OK?

By Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex

The writer is a mother, feminist and advocate.

Nov. 25, 2020 - 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. 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.

I recalled a moment last year when Harry and I were finishing up a long tour in South Africa. I was exhausted. I was breastfeeding our infant son, and I was trying to keep a brave face in the very public eye.

“Are you OK?” a journalist asked me. I answered him honestly, not knowing that what I said would resonate with so many — new moms and older ones, and anyone who had, in their own way, been silently suffering. My off-the-cuff reply seemed to give people permission to speak their truth. But it wasn’t responding honestly that helped me most, it was the question itself.

“Thank you for asking,” I said. “Not many people have asked if I’m OK.” 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?”...

https://www.nytimes.com