Princess Beatrice tells podcast premature birth can be ‘incredibly lonely’

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 eldest daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced former Duke of York and the King’s brother, is fronting a campaign for the premature birth research charity Borne, whose podcast she appeared on ahead of World Prematurity Day.

The princess’s own daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, was born several weeks premature on January 22.

“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 moms 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 in early spring, and in December received medical advice not to travel long distances.

She joined the royal family at church in Sandringham on Christmas Day after changing her travel plans from spending the festive period overseas, with doctors said to have 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, also championed by Professor Mark Johnson and Borne ambassador Laura Tobin.

She told the Borne Podcast she hopes her support of the campaign will “bring as many people that have had their own stories, to come and share them”, adding: “Then maybe we can learn from each other.”

“My favourite thing about being a mum is the fact that it’s like a secret, you know, it almost feels like a secret club of sharing stories,” Beatrice said.

“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.”

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.”