Meghan Markle Talks Of The Pain & Grief After Her Pregnancy Loss In July This Year

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, speaking of her pregnancy loss earlier this year, calls for compassion at a time when the world needs it the most.

Trigger Alert: Pregnancy loss / Miscarriage, which might be triggering for survivors.

Yesterday, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex penned down an emotional yet vital essay in the New York Times. The essay titled The Losses We Share calls for solidarity and togetherness at a time when loneliness and isolation, the two feelings can be felt commonly by people across the world.

‘Are you Ok?’

She recalled a moment last year when she got very exhausted finishing up a tour in South Africa. She was breastfeeding her infant son at the same time and was trying to put on a brave face.

A journalist asked her, “Are you OK?” to which Meghan replied, “Thank you for asking. Not many people have asked if I’m OK.” Meghan writes that she didn’t realize that her answer could resonate with many new and old mothers, all of them who were silently suffering.

Are we Ok in this traumatic year of the pandemic?

She went on to ask a vital question – Are we Ok?

While recalling the several tragedies that have haunted the world this year, alongside the deadly pandemic which took a lot of lives, she observes that people around the world are fighting and are at odds over a lot of things – from facts to ‘the value of compromise’, and that the pandemic has left us to feel more isolated than ever.

Talking about pregnancy loss

One of the most important things that Meghan talked about in her essay is the taboo and stigma around pregnancy loss. She rightfully observes that “despite the staggering commonality of the pain of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with pain.”

Concluding the essay, Meghan emphasizes on the need to share our pain together, as it is the first step to healing. We all need to ask each other if we are OK and if not then, we will be.

A much needed nudge to be more compassionate

Most of us can resonate with this essay, considering the fact that many of us are suffering, going through a lot of things in one way or the other, sometimes with the loss or pain of dear ones. Some of us are having a hard time adjusting to the new normal.

A much needed message of solidarity to be shared in a time of a mutual feeling of grief, sadness, and isolation. In the wake of division and crisis, brought by our own personal losses and amplified by a deadly pandemic, empathy and togetherness is needed more than ever. We need to come together, take care of each other, and as Meghan writes, “commit to asking each other if we are OK. If not, then we will be.”

Aditi Singh Kaushik

History, politics and pop culture enthusiast.

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