The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, has opened up on her battle with postpartum preeclampsia in the debut episode of her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.
Postpartum preeclampsia is a rare and potentially life-threatening condition that can occur after childbirth. Speaking with Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who also experienced the condition, Meghan described the ordeal as “so rare and so scary.”
“We both had very similar experiences, though we didn’t know each other at the time, with postpartum, and we both had preeclampsia. Postpartum preeclampsia,” Meghan said to Wolfe Herd, who is a mother to two sons.
Meghan however didn’t clarify whether the condition occurred after the birth of her son, Prince Archie, 5, or her daughter, Princess Lilibet, 3.
“It’s so rare and so scary,” Meghan continued. “And 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.”
According to the Duchess, the postpartum preeclampsia was an emotionally and physically draining on her especially since it happened during an already vulnerable period.
“The world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly,” she said, reflecting on the often invisible struggles that women face after giving birth, especially when juggling new motherhood with professional demands.
On the podcast, Meghan also spoke on balancing work and home life especially as a mother.
“We became moms in the pandemic, post-pandemic culture, where there is so much working from home… 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 continued. “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 of Sussex added, “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 10 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.”
The conversation marked a poignant start to Meghan’s latest podcasting venture, which seeks to spotlight the complex realities of female entrepreneurship and motherhood. Confessions of a Female Founder is produced in partnership with Lemonada Media and follows her previous podcast, Archetypes, which launched in 2022.
By sharing her own experience, Meghan hopes to bring more awareness to postpartum health issues and offer a platform where women can have honest, unfiltered conversations about their journeys.
