Premature birth 'can be lonely' - Beatrice

PRINCESS Beatrice has said experiencing premature birth “can be incredibly lonely” as she joins calls for increased research and support into prematurity.

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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 today.

“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.