Princess Beatrice has opened up about her emotional journey with preterm birth, sharing how it’s inspired her to advocate for women’s health and support families facing similar challenges
In January, Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, welcomed their second daughter, Athena. It was a joyful moment for the couple and their three-year-old daughter, Sienna. However, behind the happy announcement was a period of intense worry as Beatrice learned that Athena might be born prematurely.
Now, in a deeply personal essay for British Vogue, Beatrice reflects on her pregnancy, the unknowns she faced, and her determination to raise awareness about the challenges of preterm birth and the importance of medical research for women’s health.
In her essay for Vogue, she wrote: “Nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realise your baby is going to arrive early. There’s so little control. Will she arrive healthy? Will there be complications? How will you juggle the rest of family life while trying to keep a tiny human safe and well?”
She added: “What I learnt in this process has been humbling: understanding so much more about our remarkable human bodies, but also, more than anything, what we don’t know.”
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The Princess shared that those fears consumed her in the final stages of her pregnancy. “My second daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, was born on 22 January,” she shares. “I learnt so much from this pregnancy journey.”
Routine scans revealed that Beatrice’s pregnancy required close monitoring, and the couple soon understood that they needed to prepare for an early arrival. In her essay, Beatrice touches on the wider issue of how women’s health has often been neglected in the past.
Beatrice’s experience has only strengthened her passion for improving women’s health. With a background in technology and data analytics, she’s a firm believer in the potential of research to change lives.
Despite the overwhelming worry, Beatrice was fortunate to receive close monitoring from a dedicated medical team, which she acknowledges as a privilege. She adds: “I was very fortunate to be monitored closely by a medical team and I’m extremely aware of how lucky I am.”
Though Athena is now thriving, the journey has left a lasting impact on Beatrice. She wrote: “I’m extremely pleased to let you know Athena is now doing really well. I have a few more answers as to what happened, but still no precise explanation. Looking back over those months of sheer worry, I am filled with a sense of determination that more can be done to help others find answers to those questions around the complications that can lead to preterm birth questions that defined my days (and nights) during pregnancy.”
Beatrice credits much of her peace of mind to the team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, with oversight from Professor Mark Johnson, whose pioneering work has been crucial in understanding preterm birth.
Professor Johnson founded an organisation named Borne with the mission of ending premature birth, Beatrice is now a patron of Borne, something she said she takes great “pride” in.
The princess stresses the importance of supporting families affected by preterm birth. She added that during this difficult time she found comfort in being as open as possible with family, friends and even other mums at the school gates. She added that sharing made her realise that everyone has their own story when it comes to giving birth.
This sense of solidarity has also inspired Beatrice to collaborate with her friend Alice Naylor-Leyland to create a baby shower collection for Mrs Alice, with all proceeds benefiting Borne. She is hoping the collection will raise money and inspire necessary conversation around women’s health.
Reflecting on her journey, Beatrice admits that her perspective has changed. She put the change in herself down to growing a year older and her mother’s cancer diagnosis, adding: “Nothing feels more vital than facilitating the necessary research into the health challenges that women face daily.” Like many mothers before before her, Beatrice hopes that with time her daughters won’t have to face the challenges that she has.
Pregnancy complications are not unfamiliar in the royal family. Both Meghan Markle and Zara Tindall have publicly shared their painful experiences. In 2020, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage in July, describing the “almost unbearable grief” she felt as she lost her second child while holding her firstborn.
Meghan’s heartbreak was echoed by Zara Tindall, who, in 2018, spoke about suffering two miscarriages before successfully giving birth to her second child.