We’re seeing the final months of the Duchess of Sussex’s pregnancy, and of course people are still obsessed with talking about real or alleged birthing plans and hospitals and possible names. For months now, we’ve heard that Meghan would probably not give birth at the posh Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s. The argument was that Meghan and Harry would probably already be at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, and so Frimley Park Hospital would be a much closer and more convenient choice. Plus, the argument was that Meghan didn’t want to “copy” Kate, or that this was some kind of “snub” of Kate. Except now it’s looking a bit more likely that Meghan is considering the Lindo Wing after all?
Staff at the Lindo Wing have been advised not to take holiday in the spring, sparking speculation the Duchess of Sussex plans to have their baby there. Contrary to reports the former American actress plans to give birth on the NHS, she may instead follow in the footsteps of the Duchess of Cambridge, who had her three children at the private maternity unit at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
A source told the Telegraph: “Staff at the Lindo Wing have been asked not to take holiday in April. Everyone thinks it’s got something to do with the royal baby but no one is confirming anything.”
Although Kensington Palace has only said the royal baby is due in the spring, six-month pregnant Meghan let slip during an engagement in Birkenhead that the baby is due at the end of April or early May. The £6,000-a-night Lindo wing offers a “five-star” birthing experience with expectant mothers accommodated in spacious private rooms with en-suite bathrooms.
I have a theory! My theory is that Meghan and Harry don’t know if the renovation on Frogmore will be done in time to have moved in ahead of the birth. So they’re making secondary plans to give birth in London, at the Lindo Wing, as a just-in-case plan. If they’ve moved to Windsor by the due date, no harm no foul. Also… how in the world does Meghan’s due date keep getting pushed back? I still say they’re fudging the due date publicly. Chica is due in late March or early April.
Last thing: Us Weekly claims that a doula has been making regular visits to Meghan, and that Meghan would like the doula there to assist with the birth.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.
Due dates aren’t 100%.
I was two weeks overdue.
Exactly two weeks early with both kids, which was great because they were both big babies.
16 days early with the first, 1 day late with the second and 4 days early with the last one. Babies will come when they come. But I can see her having a backup plan.
She may be playing some with the delivery date to throw off her crazy relatives…yes due dates are just guesstimates but when it comes to safety it’s helpful to fudge it some. Hubby and i did that when i was pregnant bcs his exwife went batsh*t crazy and escalated her antics the minute she found out we were expecting…
A month early with my first, 2.5 weeks early with my second, and 2 weeks early with my third. I was 2 weeks late when my mom had me. Babies have their own agendas.
I also went to 42 weeks. So who knows!
1 week overdue both times here. Especially because she seems to be going the “natural” route, statistically speaking she’ll go over.
42 weeks for me too!I was frantic wandering if she ever would come out!
I think it was always the Lindo Wing but the press have been obbessed with labelling her as a rebel, that’s why all these other stories of a home birth, a water birth arose. You should have seen Camilla Tominey on Good Morning Britain “they do things differently in America”…..lol they have hospitals in the States. Lindo Wing makes sense, security won’t be an issue because they already know the place inside and out.
I agree that it was probably always Lindo. The press is also trying to make her sound demanding, why would the entire stuff be asked not to take vacations.
Basically, no one knows anything until it’s happened.
I can’t see a plan B location justifying asking staff to postpone vacations. Think it’s likely plan A for security reasons mostly. The place is used to celebrity births with Kate’s 3.
I love how they keep saying a home birth would have been “rebellious” when QEII gave birth to all 4 of her kids at home.
But would they need extra staff to deliver one baby?
The unsexy solution is Brexit. A lot of turmoil is expected in April and all are preparing for something they don’t know yet. No one knows what happens to NHS hospitals in case of a no-deal Brexit. People expect a serious shortcoming of drugs. Non-UK staff (many doctors and nurses are from the EU) might be pushed out on the 29th and then they need any person at hand. My guess is that the “no-holiday”-rule is in relation to this.
Ohgawd this is a cold splash of reality. I forget the RF lives in the same reality that Brexit is happening in.
I don’t see non U.K. staff being pushed out on the 29th.
The Home Ministry sent out letters to all non-UK citizens saying exactly that months ago. A letter saying that a stay after the 29th isn’t guaranteed and that people are expected to be prepared to leave. Even if they make exceptions for crucial workplaces, these exceptions don’t apply to their families. I’ve seen teachers that are expected to leave, even though they have families with Brits and underage children.
They don’t care about the consequences, they are cherry picking, even if that means separating families.
I understand that doctors and nurses have an exemption if Brexit happens.
Well, only if the government manages to actually agree on something with each other and with the EU. Nothing is fixed yet at all. Everything that happens in a no-deal scenario is “as you do to our people, we do to your people”. The EU will very well say that this is against non-discrimination rules and make it impossible. Either everyone is allowed to stay or none.
And will a nurse or doctor stay if their family is supposed to leave?
May is totally ignoring all the shit that will go down.
Brexit could be the reason.
I work for the NHS and we have been advised in our A&E that non critical leave in April is not available.
I’ve never received such a letter???
Home Office released a press statement before NY to all EU citizens currently living in the UK. Those planning on staying past 2021 (2 years after Brexit) have to register as ‘settled’. Originally application was 65 pounds but is now free.
The situation for EU residents has been up in the air but no-one is being kicked out on the 29th March.
‘Non-UK staff (many doctors and nurses are from the EU) might be pushed out on the 29th and then they need any person at hand.’
EU citizens resident in Britain have had the option to start applying for permanent status for months through the pilot scheme…that EU citizens wont be summarily kicked out of the UK is literally the ONLY thing that May’s government has been consistently clear about…
I mean, things may change if we crash out, but no one, literally not even the UKIP fundos are saying the EU citizens should (or will) be ‘pushed out’ come Brexit day.
Super-cute dress. She always looks so nice and fresh.
Yes, i really like it
I LOVE IT! It’s one of my favorite things she’s ever worn–the print is so fabulous!
ITA!
It is definitely one of my all-time favorites of hers.
Love her look here
With the date of the birth and location seeming to change everyday, I would not be surprised if Meghan has the baby and the world does not find out until she has already gone home with the child.
Just glancing at some of the nasty and frankly racist comments on some sites, there might be a security threat( include her crazy relatives) . It makes sense to be rather vague on when and where she will give birth.
@RBC, have said a few times, I hope she does. Why gift the press photos of the baby to sell their trashy papers?
Exactly.
Yes!
Same. In my opinion, the timing of the “hello to kindness” campaign and the DM troll exposure article is highly suspect. They’re probably worried they won’t get the money shot of having the Sussex family at Lindo Wing (if Meghan does give birth there).
That has always been my thoughts as well.
I think this too.She owes the press not one single thing,and I think the child’s safety from any crazies is being protected by giving a due date and location that will change.
That dress is so adorable, very feminine and cheeky, I spotted a dragon with all the winged creatures!
Anyone see the DM article that outs 4 trolls that have targeted Meghan? Wow! That is a great way to give them a dose of their own medicine. LOL
I saw that article yesterday it’s amazing how the daily mail were trying to make it seem like it all this trolls fault like they didn’t have a hand in helping feed the negative toward Meghan . The sad part is some these woman believe the nasty things they say about Meghan and people on the comments sections believe the lies these woman spew about Meghan one woman has a whole blog that says that she has information that Meghan was a hooker and sleeping with people for drugs. For the daily mail to try and act like they didn’t have a hand in stirring up the racist disgusting behavior toward Meghan is unbelievable .
“I saw that article yesterday it’s amazing how the daily mail were trying to make it seem like it all this trolls fault like they didn’t have a hand in helping feed the negative toward Meghan . ”
Yep, the cognitive dissonance is insane, same with most of the royal reporters *coughRichardPalmercough*. Did you see in the DM print version the article about the 4 raci$t trolls is opposite an article trashing Meghan for her banana message gesture? I agree with Jan90067 that this is just another way for the DM to reprint the nasty lies about Meghan.
I had to laugh at that article. Like, we all know the DM has been on a rampant smear campaign solely because Meghan didn’t text Piers Morgan back. Four random trolls on the Internet do not have as much power or influence as the DM, which, last time I checked, was the most visited news site on the Internet.
I noted that these are mentally unstable people who don’t even know Meghan. I also pointed out that the article is hypocritical – and they published the comment!
The only reason they are “outed” is to give DM a chance to put into print all of the nasty things that were said about Meghan AGAIN! Not for any other reason.
The DM were just giving them free advertisement space. “Hey readers, get even more anti-Meghan bile here.”
On the opposite page to another nasty article about Meghan, funnily enough.
Yes, I agree with everyone, the DM is pretty ingenuous, and that signing bananas story next to it was annoying. Like, they couldn’t even take 1-2 days off!
What exactly is the appeal of the Lindo Wing? Is it just some status thing?
The suites look very dated and plain to me, with the same uncomfortable hospital beds you get everywhere. In my country most public hospital’s have matching or better private rooms, and private hospitals have suites that could almost double as a 5 star hotel room. Actual comfort and luxury, not just afternoon tea and mid-range champagne in an ugly suite.
Totally a status thing.
Balmoral and Buckingham palace are not (relatively speaking) that luxurious compared to more modern luxury facilities.
Posh people in the UK go for tradition over glam.
You’re paying for the privacy, not the luxury. Normal mothers giving birth on the NHS are discharged a few hours after the birth and don’t get private rooms.
It’s probably to do with having a top class NHS maternity hospital right next to it. It might have changed now but in the past private hospitals like The Portland didn’t have emergency medical support. If you have a private op and anything goes wrong you end up at an NHS hospital. As Tina says you get privacy rather than having to share a room with 3 other women which is the norm in an NHS hospital. A woman gave birth in the bed next to my sister. 6 feet away with just a,curtain for privacy!! To the rest of us the Lindo wing would be heaven.
Yikes! As a woman living in The States, the NHS situation concerning labor and delivery sounds very unappealing. I feel as though I have been spoiled because I labored and recovered in a private birthing suite at the local hospital. It was so nice to be able to bring everything I needed and stay in one room from the start until I was discharged. Two days is also the standard hospital stay for a vaginal birth, a bit longer for a c-section.
I am expecting my third child and my birthing setup at the hospital will be a bit different this time. I will labor and deliver in one room and then be transferred to a recovery room where I will stay until discharged. I was complaining about this change as the idea of moving rooms sounds like a pain. But after hearing about the standards as part of NHS, I definitely have nothing to complain about. The idea of laboring in a room with three other women is not appealing at all.
The giving birth in the ward was a mistake, the nurses didn’t believe the poor woman was in Labour until it was too late to move her into a delivery room, which would have been private. It is pretty basic compared to the U.S. I hope you have good experience with no 3.
The NHS works quite well for most of the UK people. In the US only those with access to good health insurance get a private room and two day stay. Otherwise it is far worse treatment than anyone who is under a universal health care system. So it’s great that you have excellent health insurance but that’s not the situation for a significant portion of American women.
Actually, 48 hours’ stay is a legal requirement in some states in the US, regardless of whether you have private insurance or Medicaid. Some (not all) states have passed minimum stay laws that require insurance to allow 2 days after states saw a rise in complications for mothers and babies that were sent home the same day.
It’s not luxurious, but the UK system works much better than the US system in terms of overall maternal health. Women are twice as likely to die in childbirth in the US than the UK and three times more likely to die in pregnancy and within 42 days of childbirth.
@stormyshay Lol…I kinda see where you’re coming from…but in the UK we also don;t leave the birthing suite with a $30k bill. Everyone, and I mean every legal resident of the UK, is entitled to ‘free on point of delivery’ healthcare – regardless of their insurance status or whatever complications they face/suffer. You have nothing to complain about probably (judging from your comment) because you have the resources to afford decent healthcare/insurance in the US. Most Americans don’t have that kind of money/coverage.
The Lindo is used to managing royalty so it would be ideal.
Love that dress so much. And please, Meghan keep the side part, it’s really flattering.
They should have called out Samantha as head troll. I wonder why …. Those women are part of the Megxit crew Sam follows. I bet Scotland Yard might talk to them to see if Samantha is talking to them. Let’s see how tough they are they could lose their jobs or their positions.
Samantha apparently was on with those spewing and retweeting lies about Meghan’s pregnancy.
It would be nice if Scotland Yard showed up at their workplace to question them.
Whatever she says her due date is–is not her due date. I think they are wise to keep people guessing. It’s much harder to make dastardly plans if you don’t know the actual date or location of the “event” you want to disrupt or ruin. She’ll probably have it somewhere Not mentioned–which would be awesome.
Agreed, so awesome. Also agreeing with @Jessica below and others above – don’t do the outside of hospital waving, be home before anyone realizes and release private photos. It truly could be a security risk.
I have always maintained they should just release private photos. That would be more intimate and pretty. 🙂
I gotta say, I love that Meghan is bringing something of the whole California hippie vibe with her to London, haha. Doing yoga, getting up early, having a doula for the birth, etc. I know none of those things are inherently Californian, and that plenty of people in Britain and elsewhere do all of those things, but it’s just stuff I associate with the LA/California lifestyle for some reason.
Meghan looks beautiful in these photos, and I love her gorgeous dress.
Meghan looks gorgeous! She is glowing.
I think she might give birth there but I also think she might opt for a more quiet location. The move to Frogsmore is happening before the baby comes and they could very well have the baby in Windsor.
Either way, it’s up to her and I’m sure she will do what she and her doctor feel is best for her. Considering all the media hysteria around her right now, I will imagine it will be worse the closer she gets. I wish her a
peaceful and safe delivery.
Wherever she has her baby, I hope she & the baby are healthy and well, and there are no complications.
I am sticking to a March due date. I hope she has a safe delivery and a healthy baby. I am thinking it will be a boy is my first thought. Then I thought if she has girl I feel she could possibly have twins. Strange ideas.
Me too, March delivery and very possibly twins.