--- title: Meghan Markle Reflects on Motherhood in New Documentary description: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is opening up about the challenges she has faced since giving birth to royal baby Archie. canonical: https://time.com/5704750/meghan-markle-motherhood/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-18T14:45:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:00:55.827Z og:title: Meghan Markle Reflects on Early Motherhood og:description: "It’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes" og:url: https://time.com/5704750/meghan-markle-motherhood/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28de1110dabcd249/698a047e4ee2627c2a31672e/meghan-markle-motherhood.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Meghan-Markle-Motherhood og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meghan Markle Reflects on Early Motherhood twitter:description: "It’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28de1110dabcd249/698a047e4ee2627c2a31672e/meghan-markle-motherhood.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meghan Markle Discusses the Challenges of Early Motherhood: 'It’s a Very Real Thing to Be Going Through Behind the Scenes'  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 18, 2019 2:45 PM UTC  Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the WellChild awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on October 15, 2019 in London, England. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the WellChild awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on October 15, 2019 in London, England.Max Mumby/Indigo—Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 18, 2019 2:45 PM UTC [Meghan, Duchess of Sussex](https://time.com/5684108/meghan-markle-prince-harry-baby-archie-outift/) is discussing the challenges she has faced since giving birth to her and [Prince Harry](https://time.com/5690398/prince-harry-meghan-markle-tabloid-lawsuit/), Duke of Sussex’s first child, [royal baby Archie](https://time.com/5685781/royal-baby-archie-photos-south-africa-trip/). In a new clip from ITV’s forthcoming documentary _Harry & Meghan: An African Journey_, which will premiere in the U.K. on Sunday, Meghan Markle speaks candidly about the impact that intense media scrutiny has had on her physical and mental health during her time as a new mother. “Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot,” she tells ITV anchor Tom Bradby. “So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed…” > [](https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1185163665533820928) Markle goes on to thank Bradby for his concern about her well-being. “Also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.” The clip’s release comes just days after [Prince Harry appeared close to tears](https://time.com/5702064/prince-harry-archie-emotional-speech-tears/) while talking about Meghan and Archie during a speech at an awards ceremony for United Kingdom charity [WellChild](https://www.wellchild.org.uk/about-us/our-vision/), which provides support to seriously ill children and their families. The Duke of Sussex reflected on how he and Meghan had already known she was pregnant at the previous year’s ceremony. “I remember squeezing Meghan’s hand so tight during the awards,” he said. “And both of us were thinking what it would be like to parent one day — and more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time. And now as parents, being here and speaking to all of you, pulls at my heartstrings in a way I could never have understood until I had a child of my own.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5704750/meghan-markle-motherhood/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5704750/meghan-markle-motherhood/"},"headline":"Meghan Markle Discusses the Challenges of Early Motherhood: 'It’s a Very Real Thing to Be Going Through Behind the Scenes'","datePublished":"2019-10-18T14:45:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:00:55.827Z","description":"The Duchess of Sussex has faced some challenges","url":"https://time.com/5704750/meghan-markle-motherhood/","keywords":["Newsfeed","royals","onetime","meghan markle"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28de1110dabcd249/698a047e4ee2627c2a31672e/meghan-markle-motherhood.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28de1110dabcd249/698a047e4ee2627c2a31672e/meghan-markle-motherhood.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Meghan-Markle-Motherhood","caption":"Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the WellChild awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on October 15, 2019 in London, England.","creditText":"Max Mumby/Indigo—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5704750/meghan-markle-motherhood/","name":"Meghan Markle Discusses the Challenges of Early Motherhood: 'It’s a Very Real Thing to Be Going Through Behind the Scenes'"}}]}] ```