Princess Beatrice Describes 'Months of Sheer Worry' Around Second Pregnancy
Princess Beatrice is opening up in a vulnerable essay for British Vogue about the 'uncertainty' and 'overwhelming fear of the unknown' when welcoming her daughter Athena prematurely in January.
Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi—the second daughter of Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who also share Edo's son Wolfie from a previous relationship—was born on January 22. Beatrice shared that, following routine scans, she and Edo 'understood we needed to prepare for an early arrival,' adding that 'nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realize your baby is going to arrive early. There's so little control.'
Athena ultimately 'arrived healthy, a few weeks before her due date,' Beatrice continued. 'She was so tiny it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry and for life with our healthy baby to feel real. Her feet were so small—almost the same size as the paws on one of my older daughter's soft bunnies.' (Beatrice welcomed daughter Sienna Elizabeth in September 2021; Athena, who is 11th in line to the British throne, was born at just 4 pounds, 5 ounces.)
Realizing 'how lucky I am' and that 'for the longest time, women's health has been left off the agenda,' Beatrice is doing 'as much as possible to help where I can,' she wrote.
'I've found myself in the position of being a passionate new mother who wants to work to find answers for women globally,' Beatrice added. 'I want to do all I can to reassure those families whose babies might arrive early that they are not alone.'
As such, following 'months of sheer worry,' she is committed to helping others find answers to questions around complications that can lead to preterm birth, and has created a baby shower collection with her longtime friend Alice Naylor-Leyland for her brand Mrs. Alice, 'the proceeds of which will benefit Borne,' a premature research charity that Beatrice supports as a newly announced patron. She made her first public appearance since Athena's birth two months ago earlier in March at Borne's Wonderland Gala at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where she wore a white boucle ensemble from Self Portrait.
'The work that Borne is undertaking is something that is incredibly close and personal to me following the recent birth of my daughter,' Beatrice said at the event, according to Hello!. 'Every year in the U.K., 60,000 babies are delivered too soon, with little information or research as to why this is. That is why I am really looking forward to supporting Borne and its program of groundbreaking research, which I hope will help thousands of parents and children in the future.'
Of her collection with Mrs. Alice, 'This collection came about after long, late-night discussions around fertility, surrogacy, pregnancy, and motherhood,' Beatrice wrote in British Vogue. 'Our hope is that it will inspire a conversation around women's health.' She added that it is her hope that Sienna and Athena 'will not have to face these challenges when they grow up. And even if they do, they'll be doing it with the absolute best knowledge at their disposal.'
As a member of the royal family, 'I've had a life that is out of the ordinary, but my joys and fears in pregnancy and motherhood are the same as those experienced by millions of other women around the world,' she continued.
Read the original article on InStyle
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