Meghan Markle Is Being Mom-Shamed for the Way She Held Baby Archie

The Duchess of Sussex may be only two months into motherhood, but the internet is slamming her already.

Olive Green Dress Meghan Markle Holding Baby Archie next to Prince George
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock

Ever since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry took their relationship public, the now-Duchess of Sussex has been under massive scrutiny. And even before she gave birth to her first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor on May 6, Markle was surely steeling herself for lots of mom-shaming. And unsurprisingly, she's been the target of unnecessary, cruel remarks already. The latest virtual tongue-lashing Markle's been subject to involves the way she held her newborn at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day at Billingbear Polo Club in Surrey, England where Archie's father and his uncle Prince William took part in a polo match.

Markle was joined her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, niece Princess Charlotte and nephews Prince George and Prince Louis. She cradled her newborn son in her arms while watching the match, and of course the moment was captured by paparazzi.

According to FOX8, photos of Markle have been wracking up scathing, cruel, mom-shaming comments all over the web. One Twitter user wrote, "Is there anyone in your palaces who can teach #MeghanMarkle how to hold a baby in her arms? It seems that Meghan Markle is not a mum material but she will hurt the baby! She will surely keep using the baby for her own PR."

Another said, "That looks like a mini Thomas Markle she is carrying around. That baby is way too big to be 2 months old. and, she doesn't know how to hold him."

A third commented, "I am surprised that nobody else has yet commented on the way that Meghan Markle is holding Archie. She is clearly struggling and not yet familiar with the best way to hold a baby that is covered by a blanket. Her hand position is also awkwardly placed."

In response to the critical comments, an article in The Sun referenced advice from NHS midwife Tracey Owen who explained that there are lots of ways to hold a baby, and it's most important "to support your baby's head when carrying them, and you should lean it into your arm or your body." The article elaborated, "If you are holding your baby up to your chest, you should support their bottom with one hand and place your other hand across their shoulders to support the head."

Tracey added: "Sometimes babies get really windy and really gripey, so the other way you can do it is lay the baby across your forearm, pop the head up here towards the elbow the feet on either side of your hands and you can just gently rub the baby’s back at the same time."

In other words, the peanut gallery of social media should zip it. Sadly, nasty and unsupported criticism like this has become the norm. If the spotlight is on a famous mother, you can pretty much guarantee she's going to be shamed—for breastfeeding or bottle-feeding to drinking coffee to traveling or working with or without their children. Chrissy Teigen famously clapped back at shamers who gave her a hard time about how she was holding Luna as a newborn. Then, she was shamed for holding her too much.

They can't win. That's why, hopefully, Markle isn't paying any mind to this negative, and in some cases, downright nasty chatter. Famous or not, what a new mom needs is support—not shaming.

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