Meghan Markle has opened up about having postpartum preeclampsia – a medical condition linked to high blood pressure which impacts some mothers after giving birth.
Speaking on her new podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, the former Suits star and her friend, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, opened up about how they both experienced the condition after giving birth, which Meghan said was “so rare and so scary”.
Whitney has two sons who are of a similar age to Meghan and Harry’s children, Archie, five, and Lili, three.
Meghan said of the period after giving birth, when she was also privately dealing with the health condition: “You’re still trying to juggle all of these things and the world doesn’t know what’s happening – and in the quiet you’re still trying to show up for people and in the quiet you’re still trying to show up, mostly for your children.
“But those things are huge medical scares.”
Whitney added: “I mean, life or death truly. It’s really scary.”
What is postpartum preeclampsia?
Postpartum preeclampsia is a serious disease related to high blood pressure, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation. It can happen up to six weeks after a baby is born.
Symptoms of the illness include: stomach pain, severe headaches, feeling nauseous or vomiting, seeing spots, swelling of the hands and face, and shortness of breath.
The condition can be very serious, with potential risks including seizures, organ damage, stroke and even death.
Whitney continued: “I’ll never forget the image of you after you delivered Archie and the whole world was waiting for his debut.
“And I was either just becoming, or about to become a new mum, and I was like: ‘Oh my god, how is this woman doing this? How is this woman putting on heels and going and debuting a child in this beautiful outfit in front of the entire world?’
“I could barely face a doorbell delivery for takeout food in a robe.”
The value of working from home for parents
The pair also discussed becoming mothers post-pandemic and how important it’s been to be able to work from home.
“We became mums in the pandemic, [in this] post-pandemic culture where there is so much working from home,” said Meghan.
“I don’t leave the house to go to an office, my office is here. Lili still naps, she gets picked up early and she naps, she only has a half day in pre-school.
“If she wakes up and she wants to find me, she knows where to find me, even if my door is closed to the office. She’ll be sitting there on my lap during one of these meetings with a grid of all the executives.”
The Duchess of Sussex, who recently starred in a Netflix show called With Love, Meghan, added: “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want to miss those moments. I don’t want to miss pick-up if I don’t have to. I don’t want to miss drop-off.”
You can listen to Confessions of a Female Founder here.
#Scary #Meghan #Markle #Reveals #Postpartum #Preeclampsia
Leave a Reply