Princess Beatrice has said experiencing premature birth ‘can be incredibly lonely’ – as she joins calls for increased research and support into prematurity.
Beatrice, 37, the elder daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced former Duke of York, is fronting a campaign for the premature birth research charity Borne, whose podcast she appeared on ahead of World Prematurity Day today.
The princess’s daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, was born several weeks premature on January 22.
‘I think so often, especially as mums, we spend our lives feeling we have to be perfect,’ Beatrice told the special edition of the Borne Podcast. ‘When you are faced with that moment of learning 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 life-changing relief that can come with knowing that there is an organisation that is supporting the research… and asking some of these important questions.’
Beatrice was due to give birth to her second daughter in early spring, but in December received medical advice not to travel long distances, with doctors said to have warned that a premature arrival was a possibility.
Last week, Beatrice, patron of Borne, visited the charity’s research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London as part of the Every Week Counts campaign
The princess’s daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, was born several weeks premature on January 22
She then joined the Royal Family in Sandringham on Christmas Day, after changing her plans from spending the festive period overseas.
Last week, Beatrice, 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 podcast she hopes the campaign will bring ‘people that have had their own stories to come and share them’.
Each year, 60,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK – one in every 13 births.
