Duchess Kate gets candid about motherhood in new interview
Duchess Kate has spoken up on her experiences with motherhood in a candid interview.
Speaking to Giovanna Fletcher on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, the Duchess of Cambridge said her struggle with hyperemesis – or severe nausea and vomiting – led her to decide to hypnobirth all three of her children.
“I saw the power of it, really – the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that – that they teach you in hypnobirthing when I was really sick and actually I realised that this was something that I could take control of, I suppose, during labour. It was hugely powerful,” the 38-year-old said.
She said the chronic morning sickness made her pregnancies difficult – and not just for herself, but also for her husband Prince William.
“It was definitely a challenge. Not just for me, but also for your loved ones around you,” she said.
“Being pregnant and having a newborn baby and things like that, impacts everybody in the family.
“William didn’t feel he could do much to help and it’s hard to see you’re suffering without actually being able to do anything about it.”
Kate also said presenting her newborn babies to the press outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London was a “slightly terrifying” experience.
“Both William and I were really conscious that this was something that everyone was excited about and you know we’re hugely grateful for the support that the public had shown us, and actually for us to be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public, I felt was really important,” she said.
“But equally it was coupled with a newborn baby, and inexperienced parents, and the uncertainty of what that held, so there were all sorts of mixed emotions.”
The Duchess also admitted she struggled with “mum guilt” from balancing parenting with her other responsibilities.
“All the time… Even this morning, George and Charlotte were like, ‘Mummy, how could you possibly not be dropping us off at school this morning?’ No, it’s a constant challenge.”
Podcast host Fletcher said she did not expect the Duchess to be so open in the interview.
“I love hearing her very honest answers, how articulate and intelligent she is about early years... and how playful she is as well when she’s talking about her own kids.”
Kate’s appearance came after the release of her survey 5 Big Questions on the Under 5s, which sought to gain more information on the British public’s understanding of early child development.