The Duchess of Sussex has spoken about the ‘life or death’ battle she faced with a rare condition after her pregnancy – and one woman knows exactly what she went through
Melissa Howard had the same rare condition as Meghan Markle (Image: Melissa Howard)
Meghan Markle has bravely opened up about her terrifying health scare following one of her pregnancies due to a rare condition – one 36 year old Melissa Howard knows about all too well.
In the debut episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, the Duchess of Sussex delved into the world of motherhood and revealed that she suffered from postpartum preeclampsia. Describing the condition as “so rare and so scary”, Meghan confessed: “And you’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly. And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children — but those things are huge medical scares.”
Postpartum preeclampsia is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition that causes high blood pressure after childbirth. The NHS lists symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia as severe headaches, vision problems, pain below the ribs, vomiting, and sudden swelling of the feet, ankles, face, and hands. Without immediate treatment, the condition can lead to severe complications, including convulsions, liver and blood clotting disorders, and strokes in rare cases.
Meghan Markle revealed that she had postpartum preeclampsia on her new podcast(Image: Karwai Tang, WireImagevia Getty Images)
Like Meghan, Melissa, 36, from Wirral Peninsula in north west England, suffered from postpartum preeclampsia, which is estimated to affect around 4-6% of pregnancies. Melissa had previously welcomed her first son, Grayson, with her partner of 13 years, Chris, in August 2020.
However, the photographer was told she had the rare condition the day after she welcomed her second child, a baby boy, via an emergency C-section on 12 April 2023.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, the mum of two said: “My pregnancy was bumpy and a bit difficult. There were a few times when the little one’s heartbeat had gone, or I couldn’t feel that they were kicking. So I visited triage quite a bit, and they referred to my blood pressure as labile.” This refers to unexpected changes in blood pressure.
“My blood pressure could go really high, and five minutes later, it could be normal again.” In the last two weeks before giving birth, Melissa experienced symptoms of preeclampsia, although she wasn’t aware of it at the time.
Melissa was diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia after welcoming her second son(Image: Family handout)
“As my due date was getting closer, my symptoms were getting worse,” she shared. “I was very swollen everywhere, my forearms swelled up to the point where you couldn’t even tell that they were my arms – it was really weird.” Melissa raised concerns but never got a diagnosis of preeclampsia due to being turned away for another scan, missed appointments, and people being off sick for checks.
Melissa had originally planned to have a C-section, but when her waters broke spontaneously two weeks ahead of her due date, an emergency C-section was carried out. She shared: “It turned into an actual medical emergency for me to get the little one out, and he was resuscitated for just over eight minutes.” This was due to her son not breathing when he was born, despite his heart beating.
Thankfully, her son, Rowan, was okay, but they never found out if his difficult start was related to the preeclampsia.
Melissa welcomed her second child, a baby boy called Rowan, via an emergency C-section(Image: Family handout)
During the delivery of her son, Melissa was given medication to help bring her blood pressure down and was told it “rights itself” and that “preeclampsia finishes when the baby is born”, but it never did. “They told me it was postpartum preeclampsia but said it’s probably because I had such a traumatic birth and my body was not reacting very well to all of the trauma. I was in a lot of pain,” she explained.
For a few days after the birth, the family stayed in hospital as there were concerns that their newborn baby might have sepsis. Thankfully, he didn’t, but while they were at the hospital it transpired that Melissa still had postpartum preeclampsia after undergoing some checks. They were later discharged home and Melissa had daily visits from the midwife for a week to monitor her condition, and she was later referred to the GP.
‘I’m still on two lots of medication for it now, and I’ve got to take them for life, apparently’, Melissa shared(Image: Melissa Howard)
Six months later, Melissa’s postpartum preeclampsia was deemed as “high blood pressure” despite the condition still being present. “I wasn’t particularly happy about this, and there isn’t a time or date when postpartum preeclampsia should resolve itself,” she shared. “I’m still on two lots of medication for it now, and I’ve got to take them for life, apparently.
“The thing that really frustrates me is that there’s no answer to it, and it’s like, ‘We don’t know what to do with you’, so they just marked it as high blood pressure. I think I’m on a higher dose than my almost 90 year old nan!”
Melissa has sought help in learning more about postpartum preeclampsia and how she can overcome it, but says there “isn’t much information out there.” She noted: “I just want some answers. It’s rare but like a phenomenon of why it doesn’t stop.”
The 36 year old is now a mum to two children but doesn’t know if she’d ‘survive’ having a third child, despite longing to extend the family(Image: Family handout)
Sadly, because Melissa still suffers from high blood pressure due to postpartum preeclampsia, she’s unsure whether she can have a third child that she and her partner long for. She told us: “We really want a third child, but I don’t know whether I’ll survive it.
“The risk of getting preeclampsia again is really high, and it would be a really high-risk pregnancy. But considering I pretty much ‘still have it’, it’s a really sad position to be in. I wish there was somebody that would understand it to know the risks but I think the risk is just too high.”
As she continues to battle with high blood pressure, Melissa said: “It’s always on the back of my mind and has changed the way I live, the worry is there.” As well as this, she’s also experienced “strange bouts of palpitations that happen for no apparent reason.”
