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Fact check: Did Megan Markle have a complicated pregnancy with her first child?
Executive Summary
Meghan Markle experienced a medically significant complication after the birth of her first child, Prince Archie — she disclosed having postpartum preeclampsia, a rare and potentially life-threatening condition, in 2025. Contemporary reporting and Markle’s own account describe a frightening episode that forced changes to her birth plans and required urgent medical attention, establishing that her first pregnancy and delivery involved notable complications [1] [2].
1. A startling revelation: What Meghan herself said and when the story surfaced
Meghan Markle publicly revealed the medical complication in April 2025 on her new podcast, describing postpartum preeclampsia as “so rare and so scary,” and framing it as a significant health scare after the birth of Archie. The disclosure came in the debut episode of Confessions of a Female Founder and has been reported across multiple outlets, all noting her firsthand account of symptoms and the diagnosis. The timing of the revelations—several years after Archie’s 2019 birth—meant new details entered public record in 2025 rather than contemporaneously, which shaped subsequent coverage and public reaction [1] [3].
2. Medical specifics: What postpartum preeclampsia means and how it applies
Postpartum preeclampsia is characterized by elevated blood pressure and organ-related signs such as excess protein in urine appearing after delivery; it can be life-threatening if untreated. Reports of Markle’s experience emphasize those hallmark features and label the episode a “huge medical scare,” indicating the condition met clinical criteria that demanded medical intervention. Medical reporting tied to her account highlights that while preeclampsia more commonly occurs before or during late pregnancy, the postpartum variant can present suddenly after childbirth, which aligns with Markle’s description of unexpected severity and urgent care needs [3] [4] [5].
3. Birth plans overturned: From planned home birth to hospital emergency
Earlier reporting from 2019 noted Meghan had initially planned a home birth for Archie but was taken to a hospital when “things didn’t go as planned,” signaling complications during labor or immediately after delivery. That contemporaneous account, paired with the later 2025 disclosure of postpartum preeclampsia, forms a consistent narrative: an intended home birth shifted to hospital care due to emergent medical issues. The two timelines—2019 reporting of altered birth plans and 2025 confirmation of a diagnosed postpartum condition—fit together to substantiate that the pregnancy and delivery did not proceed without serious medical complications [2] [1].
4. Consistent cross-reporting and the emergence of new details in 2025
Multiple outlets in 2025 repeated Markle’s account with largely consistent details: the diagnosis of postpartum preeclampsia, the rarity and danger of the condition, and her personal characterization of the episode as frightening. Earlier pieces from 2019 and 2024 referenced logistical complications around the birth and broader discussions of preeclampsia but lacked the explicit medical diagnosis that Markle supplied in 2025. The later disclosure therefore added a definitive medical label to prior reports of an emergency hospital transfer, strengthening the factual basis that her first childbirth involved a serious postpartum complication [6] [7] [1].
5. Different perspectives, potential motives, and what’s left unsaid
Reporting is unanimous about Markle’s account, but the media context matters: initial 2019 reports focused on birth logistics and royal-working pressures, while 2025 coverage foregrounded health risks and advocacy around maternal complications. Meghan’s disclosure on her podcast also serves broader aims—raising awareness about maternal health—so readers should note the dual role of a personal revelation that also functions as public advocacy. There remain unanswered clinical details in public reporting—such as exact treatment timelines, hospital records, or medical team statements—so while the diagnosis is credibly reported, granular medical chronology beyond Markle’s account has not been publicly documented [1] [4].
6. Bottom line: Did she have a complicated pregnancy with Archie?
Yes. Contemporary and retrospective reporting, combined with Meghan Markle’s own 2025 disclosure, establish that her first childbirth entailed significant complications culminating in postpartum preeclampsia and an emergency shift from a planned home birth to hospital care. The aggregate record presents a consistent and corroborated picture: a clinically serious postpartum condition occurred after Archie’s birth, making the pregnancy and delivery complicated by objective medical criteria and urgent care needs [2] [5] [1].