The Duchess of Cambridge opened up about her struggles as a mother in a rare solo interview Giovanna Fletcher on Saturday.
Talking on Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby, the Duchess got candid about her experiences as a mother, from her struggles with ‘mum guilt’ to how Prince William felt helpless during her difficult pregnancies.
Feelings of guilt
Opening up about her struggles as a mother, Kate said she experiences ‘mum guilt’ and questions her judgements as a mother “all the time.”
“[It] starts from the moment you have a baby,” she told Fletcher. “I feel a huge responsibility because the amount of what I’ve learned over the last few years, it’s so fascinating and I definitely would have done things differently, even during my pregnancy, that I wouldn’t have done now, knowing the importance of the early years.”
Struggles with pregnancies
The Duchess also got candid about her battle with hyperemesis gravidarum during her three pregnancies, characterised by extreme nausea and vomiting.
“It was definitely a challenge, not just for me but also for your loved ones around you…[it] impacts everybody in the family,” she said.
She explained how husband Prince William felt helpless during her struggles. “William didn’t feel he could do much to help and it’s hard for everyone to see you suffering from that.”
The importance of quality time
Kate said making room for “quality time” with George, Charlotte and Louis was very important to her as a mother. “Spending quality time with your children [is] not really whether you’ve done every single drop-off and every single pick-up, but actually it’s those quality moments that you spend with your child, where you’re actually properly listening to them, properly understanding what they feel,” she shared.
“I’ve got this one photo of Charlotte smelling a bluebell, and really for me it’s moments like that mean so much to me as a parent,” she said. “I try every day to put moments like that in, even if they’re small or even if I don’t have time.”
