Meghan Markle Opens Up About Miscarriage in Powerful NYT Op-Ed

Meghan Markle has revealed she had a miscarriage over the summer.

In a powerful essay written in The New York Times published Wednesday, the Duchess of Sussex opened up about the pain of losing her and Prince Harry's second child back in July.

"After changing [Archie's] diaper, I felt a sharp cramp," Meghan began, recalling details of the day of her miscarriage. "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."

While in the hospital hours later, with Harry by her side, Meghan said she remembered an interview with a journalist during her and Harry's trip to South Africa last year. The reporter, Tom Bradby, asked Meghan a simple question: "Are you OK?"

In her essay, Meghan said she asked herself the same question after her miscarriage, realizing that it's "the only way to begin to heal."

"Sitting in a hospital bed, watching my husband's heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine, I realized that the only way to begin to heal is to first ask, 'Are you OK?'" Meghan recalled in the essay.

She then shared information she's learned about other women who've had miscarriages. "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."

Just as the journalist in South Africa asked Meghan if she was "OK," she suggests that everyone do the same and check in on one another, especially after what has been a rough year for many, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the reckoning with race following the tragic deaths of George Floyd,  Breonna Taylor and countless others.

"As we plan for a holiday unlike any before -- many of us separated from our loved ones, alone, sick, scared, divided and perhaps struggling to find something, anything, to be grateful for -- let us commit to asking others, 'Are you OK?'" she wrote.

Meghan concluded, "We are adjusting to a new normal where faces are concealed by masks, but it's forcing us to look into one another's eyes -- sometimes filled with warmth, other times with tears. For the first time, in a long time, as human beings, we are really seeing one another. Are we OK? We will be."

In the wake of the news of Meghan's miscarriage, she was met with an outpouring of support on social media, with many also sharing their own stories about losing children. The hashtag "#AreYouOkay" even became a trend on Twitter.

Among those who reacted to her essay was Prince Harry's uncle, Charles Spencer, the brother of Harry's late mom Princess Diana.

While appearing on the British talk show "Lorraine," Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, shared his condolences to his nephew and Meghan following their loss.