Meghan Markle’s mental health struggles ring true for many pregnant women

Meghan Markle’s mental health struggles ring true for many pregnant women

There were many revealing allegations in Meghan and Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month. But perhaps the bravest of all was Meghan's admission of her mental health struggles during her pregnancy, and how unsupported she felt by the royal family. Although Meghan did not specify whether she was formally diagnosed with clinical depression, her revelation that she "didn't want to be alive any more", at a time when she was pregnant and being hounded by the UK press, touched on a topic that still remains taboo and yet all too common. "In high-income countries, 7-20% of women experience depression during pregnancy," says Dr Rebecca Steingiesser, Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist at The LightHouse Arabia. "Women often feel like they are not responding to pregnancy as they feel they are 'supposed to' and feel ashamed of their depressive thoughts and experiences." While Meghan's own situation was of course unique, by admitting so publically that she struggled emotionally while pregnant, she kick-started a conversation about perinatal mental health that may help to normalize the feelings of many others pregnant women across the world. Likewise, Harry's confession that he "had no idea what to do"