Meghan revealed in an article she penned for a US newspaper she suffered from a miscarriage in July. The Duchess of Sussex received widespread praise for sharing a personal and painful confession and shining a light on a topic many find difficult to speak about.
Author Matt Haig, who was featured by the Duchess in the Vogue issue she co-edited in September last year, wrote on Twitter: “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.
“My wife went through a miscarriage two years ago.
“We were in Australia and felt alone. It was so traumatic.
“To grieve a future that wasn’t there.
Meghan Markle is the Duchess of Sussex (Image: GETTY)
Meghan Markle has been praised for bravely speaking about her miscarriage (Image: GETTY)
“It also felt difficult to talk about. A strange taboo.
“It is so healthy and healing when anyone talks about this topic so openly.”
Professor Kate Williams, of the University of Reading, wrote on Twitter: “‘When one person speaks truth, it gives licence to all of us to feel the same’ — beautiful, powerful, personal essay on miscarriage and loss by the #DuchessofSussex #MeghanMarkle.”
Meghan’s brave confession also pushed others who have had miscarriages to speak about it on social media.
Anita Singh, Daily Telegraph arts and entertainment editor, wrote: “When I had a miscarriage, I remember scouring the internet for articles by women who had been through the same thing.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle miscarriage: Duchess felt ‘sharp cramp’ – symptoms list
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry now live in California (Image: GETTY)
“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.”
Twitter user Joanne wrote: “We all react differently. It’s happened to me, afterwards all these amazing ladies spoke to me at work about their experiences, sadly and surprisingly it’s common and does effect people in different ways.
“We should support each other regardless – stay safe.”
Another social media user, Caroline, added: “So sad to hear of their news.
“I am a few years on from my last and 5th miscarriage. I don’t think about them every day now but they have definitely changed me.”
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry married in May 2018 (Image: GETTY)
Meghan was praised for her words and courage to speak out also by several associations helping people experiencing miscarriages and stillbirths.
Tommy’s, an organisation supporting families who lost a baby or have had experienced miscarriages as well as helping everyone to have healthy pregnancies, wrote on Twitter: “Thank you Meghan, for #breakingthesilence”.
Sophie King, a midwife from this association, added: “Meghan’s essay praises the bravery of parents who share their stories, and those who prefer to grieve privately can still find comfort and connection in reading about others’ experiences.
“Her honesty and openness today send a powerful message to anyone who loses a baby: this may feel incredibly lonely, but you are not alone.
“Friends and family, doctors and midwives, all of us at support organisations like Tommy’s; we’re here.”
The Women’s Organisation, a British non-profit aimed at helping women economically, wrote on Twitter: “Respect to Meghan Markle for using her own tragic experience as a platform to speak up about the collective grief & loss we have felt this year — to COVID-19, as well as the tragic deaths of Breonna Taylor & George Floyd.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have stepped down as senior royals (Image: GETTY)
“Loss and pain have plagued every one of us in 2020.”
The Miscarriage Association, which offers support and information to anyone affected by miscarriages, also wrote on Twitter: “We’re so very sorry to hear of the Duchess and Duke of Sussex’s miscarriage.
“The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has shared her story in the New York Times.
“She writes about how important it is for us all to reach out and ask others, ‘Are you OK?'”
The Duchess of Sussex described her tragic experience as an “almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few”.
In her deeply personal essay, Meghan people who have spoken more openly about miscarriages and losing a child have helped others around the world to feel less alone in their pain and break the taboo.
Meghan Markle penned an article for the New York Times (Image: GETTY)
She wrote in The New York Times: “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.
“Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.
“Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same.
“We have learned that when people ask how any of us are doing, and when they really listen to the answer, with an open heart and mind, the load of grief often becomes lighter — for all of us.
“In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”
