Meghan Markle Shared the Grief of Her Miscarriage for an Important Reason

In a powerful essay for The New York Times, Meghan Markle revealed that she had a miscarriage in July. In opening up about the experience of losing her second child — who would have been a sibling to her and Prince Harry's 1-year-old son, Archie — she shed light on how common pregnancy loss is, how little it's talked about, and why it's more important than ever to talk about these experiences.

Markle said the day of her miscarriage began like any other, but she knew something was wrong when she felt a sudden "sharp cramp" while changing Archie's diaper.

"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," Markle wrote. "I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."

She then recalled laying in a hospital bed, grieving the loss of her baby with Prince Harry by her side. "Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over," Markle wrote of the experience. "I tried to imagine how we'd heal."

ICYDK, roughly 10-20 percent of confirmed pregnancies end in a miscarriage, the majority of which happen in the first trimester, according to the Mayo Clinic. What's more, research shows that the grief of miscarriage can lead to significant depressive episodes in the months following the loss. (

Despite how common it is, conversations about miscarriage — and the toll they can take on your mental health — are often "riddled with (unwarranted) shame," Markle wrote. "Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few."

That's why it's all the more impactful when women in the public eye — including not just Markle, but also celebs like Chrissy Teigen, Beyoncé, and Michelle Obama — share their experiences with miscarriage. "They have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same," Markle wrote. "In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing." (

Markle is telling her story through the lens of 2020, a year that "has brought so many of us to our breaking points," she wrote. From the social isolation of COVID-19 to the contentious election to the tragically unjust killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (and countless other Black people who died at the hands of the police), 2020 has added another layer of hardship for those who are already experiencing unexpected loss and grief.

In sharing her experience, Markle said she hopes to remind people of the power behind simply asking someone: "Are you OK?"

"As much as we may disagree, as physically distanced as we may be," she wrote, "the truth is that we are more connected than ever because of all we have individually and collectively endured this year."