Kate Middleton’s Message for Baby Loss Awareness Week Has Followers Asking a Pointed Question
Pregnancy and infant loss is a truly devastating and all-too-common reality for families worldwide, and it’s a taboo topic that often only lives in the shadows of grief. But in recent years, celebrities have been more vocal about their experiences with loss, and there’s even been the creation of Baby Loss Awareness Week. It’s an important (if painful) reminder for families that they are not alone in their grief. The Mayo Clinic estimates that between 10 and 20 percent of known pregnancies result in a miscarriage, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 21 thousand babies are stillborn each year in the United States.
Kate Middleton recently penned a personal message in honor of Baby Loss Awareness Week, calling it “such an important moment to support those who have experienced the devastation of baby loss.”
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“Sending love, strength and hope to anyone affected,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter), signing it with a “C” to say the tweet came straight from her, Catherine, Princess of Wales.
The message was posted with a picture of a lit Wave of Light candle “in memory of all babies’ lives gone too soon.”
Many followers had a pointed question for the Princess of Wales. They want to know if she sent a message to her estranged sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, who suffered a miscarriage in July 2020, six months after she and husband Prince Harry stepped down as senior royals.
“Did you send condolences to your sister in law who lost your brother’s baby because of the stress you allowed the press to put her through? Monsters,” one follower said. It’s important to note that stress is not a direct cause of miscarriages, though it might increase a person’s risk of miscarrying. There is clearly ongoing speculation that it was a factor in Markle’s case.
“My thoughts and prayers are with our precious Harry & Meghan who lost their baby!!! We will never forget that & some of the reasons that caused that!” another X user said. And on it went:
“This gesture wouldn’t have been so empty if you had reached out to your own sister in law when she suffered a miscarriage.” “The loss that H&M endured is something I would not wish on anyone. The shame is on the Waleses for their lack of sympathy, empathy and kindness. My thoughts will be with H&M” “This takes some f*cking nerve.” “Shove your phoney concern.”
Markle and Prince Harry have both written about the miscarriage — her in a harrowing New York Times op-ed, and him in his tell-all memoir, Spare. The tragic loss happened between the births of their two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
“After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp,” Markle wrote. “I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.”
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
At this time, we don’t know if Middleton has or will reach out to Markle and Prince Harry this week. We sincerely hope she and the rest of the royal family do (and they could find out the best way to support someone who’s lost a baby by reading this). But given the bad blood between the Wales and Sussex families, we — sadly — won’t be holding our breath.
These other famous parents have been open about suffering miscarriages.
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