Princess Beatrice has opened up on feeling “incredibly lonely” after the premature birth of her daughter as she called for greater awareness for others.
The daughter of exiled former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson said she had felt pressure to be “perfect” as she anticipated the birth of her daughter Athena Elizabeth Rose, who was born several weeks premature on 22 January.
Beatrice has joined forces with premature birth research charity Borne, to campaign for increased research into prematurity, which she believes could be “life-changing” for parents.
“I think so often, especially as mums, we spend our lives, you know, feeling we have to be perfect to do this,” Beatrice told the special edition of The Borne Podcast published on Monday.
“And sometimes, when you are faced with that moment of learning that your baby’s going to come a bit early, it can be incredibly lonely.
“And even now, talking to some of the mums who know about my work with Borne, they feel this sense of, like, sort of life changing relief that can come with knowing that there is an organisation there that is supporting the research and supporting the questions, and asking some of these important questions.”
Beatrice was due to give birth to her daughter Athena in early spring, but received medical advice not to travel long distances in December.
She had originally planned to spend the holidays overseas, but joined the royal family at church in Sandringham on Christmas Day after doctors warned that a premature arrival was a possibility.
Last week, Beatrice, who is patron of Borne, visited the charity’s research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London as part of the Every Week Counts campaign.
She told the Borne Podcast she is sharing her story in the hopes it will allow others to come forward, adding everyone can “learn from each other”.
The princess said her favourite thing about being a mum is that it is “like a secret club of sharing stories”.
“And I love the fact that Borne is there to support them (mothers) when they’re going through something incredibly traumatic, and how can we make sure that phenomenal data, great tools, great doctors, have everything at their disposal so that no Mum can feel alone,” she said.
Each year, 60,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK, making for one in 13 births.
Globally, 15 million babies are born early, and complications from prematurity remain the leading cause of neonatal death and lifelong disability, according to Borne. Yet, pregnancy and childbirth receive less than 2 % of medical research funding, the charity said.
“I was really quite shocked to learn that we really do not have as much data with women’s health, with pregnant women’s health,” Beatrice told The Borne Podcast.
“So I was really passionate about high quality data being able to enrich the medical field.
“I think the key thing is that all the scientists that we’ve approached to be part of the Borne collaborative have said: look, alone, we are making no progress, but with Borne helping us to work together, we will make a difference.
“We will change what is going on in the hospitals every day all around the world.”
