The Duchess of Sussex shares a son and a daughter with Prince Harry
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has revealed that she was diagnosed with post-partum pre-eclampsia – a rare and potentially life-threatening condition – following childbirth.
Postpartum preeclampsia is a condition that occurs when you have high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine soon after childbirth, according to Mayo Clinic.
Most cases of postpartum preeclampsia develop within 48 hours of childbirth.
It requires prompt treatment as, if left untreated, postpartum preeclampsia can cause seizures and other serious complications.
The 43-year-old shares two children with husband Prince Harry – Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.
Speaking on the Confessions of a Female Founder podcast, the duchess said: “It’s so rare and so scary. You’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly.
“And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children – but those things are huge medical scares.”
The former Suits actress didn’t reveal whether she faced the medical complication after giving birth to Archie or Lilibet.
However, she did open up about the challenge of balancing parenting duties with her business ambitions.
“Lili still naps, she gets picked up early and she naps,” she explained.
“She only has a half day in preschool. If she wakes up and 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 … I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want to miss those moments.
“I don’t want to miss pickup if I don’t have to. I don’t want to miss drop-off.”
The duchess also believes that parenthood has given her a healthy sense of perspective.
Meghan – who has been married to Harry since 2018 – revealed: “What I do love the most about having young kids, in this chapter while I’m building [business], is the perspective that it brings because you’re building something while your child’s going through potty training – and both are just as important.
“It’s like, ‘Great, okay, where’s the Cheerios? Well done.’ And then you’re championing your team ten minutes later about something that is really high value for the world.
“In your own world, that’s super high value. And in [Lili’s] world, that’s super high value.”
