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Prince Harry's comment that "stress" induced by Meghan Markle's fierce legal battle with Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper may have contributed to her 2020 miscarriage has led to debate online.
In the couple's new Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the prince speaks about the miscarriage in the context of her privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of The Mail on Sunday, over the partial publication of a private letter written to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, in 2018.
Meghan won the lawsuit after a lengthy appeal in December 2021, despite making an apology for misleading the court after evidence from a former palace aide contradicted on-the-record statements that she had not collaborated with the authors of the Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom.
Meghan first revealed that she experienced a miscarriage in a November 2020 essay for The New York Times titled "The Losses We Share." The duchess had become pregnant one year after giving birth to her first child, Archie, in 2019.
In Harry & Meghan, the prince says: "I believe my wife suffered a miscarriage because of what the Mail did. I watched the whole thing."
He went on, "Now, do we absolutely know that the miscarriage was created, caused by that? Course we don't. But bearing in mind the stress that that caused, the lack of sleep and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was, I can say from what I saw that miscarriage was created by what they were trying to do to her."
His comment that "stress" was a likely contributory factor provoked some rebuttal online after the second part of the docuseries aired Thursday.
Writer and commentator Rebecca Reid took to Twitter to express concern that the prince was perpetuating misinformation that is contrary to established medical research and guidance.
"I have enormous, huge, unspeakable sympathy with the Duchess of Sussex for her miscarriage," Reid wrote. "I do not, however, feel it is responsible for Prince Harry to suggest that it was caused by stress. This is misinformation - all research agrees that miscarriage isn't caused by stress.
I have enormous, huge, unspeakable sympathy with the Duchess of Sussex for her miscarriage. I do not, however, feel it is responsible for Prince Harry to suggest that it was caused by stress. This is misinformation - all research agrees that miscarriage isn't caused by stress.
— Rebecca Reid (Taylor’s Version) (@RebeccaCNReid) December 15, 2022
"Perpetuating the idea that you can prevent miscarriage by avoiding specific circumstances (like stress) adds to the myth that it is preventable, when in the vast majority of cases it is not. Very few things cause miscarriage and stress is not one of them," she said.
"No matter how awful I feel for them about their loss, it's really important that we stick to the facts about pregnancy loss. There is already far too much misinformation, too many rumours and old wives tales, which adds to secrecy, stigma and shame.
"I strongly believe that the press intrusion must have been horrific and should be illegal, FWIW [for what it's worth]," Reid said.
"You did not lose your baby because you were stressed, or tired, or overworked, or fighting with your partner. It wasn't because you had a cup of coffee or a glass of wine or a cigarette. It wasn't because you went out dancing with your friends. It was because nature is cruel," she said.
Contacted for comment, Reid told Newsweek that while "most" medical research says that stress does not result in miscarried pregnancies, it is not representative of "all" research.
A number of commenters on the Twitter thread shared their experiences. One user wrote: "When we had our 1st miscarriage, I blamed myself for lifting something heavy whilst gardening & the argument I was having with my husband. It took quite a bit of therapy & 3 more miscarriages before I accepted none of it was my fault & that it was my body letting me down."
Others spoke in support of the prince's view, adding that they had received medical advice about pregnancy and stress.
"So why, when my cortisol levels were through the roof and I had a miscarriage, did my highly experienced IVF team say stress was a huge factor?" a commenter asked.
Current medical guidance says that stress, though detrimental to overall health, does not cause miscarriages.
Writing on the Mayo Clinic's website, Dr. Yvonne Butler Tobah said: "While excessive stress isn't good for your overall health, there's no evidence that stress results in miscarriage.... Most often, early miscarriage is caused by a chromosomal abnormality that interferes with the normal development of the embryo."
Newsweek reached out to Harry's representatives for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more