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'There's a lot of pressure': The Duchess of Cambridge talks life as a parent in her first-ever podcast interview

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Kate Middleton and Giovanna Fletcher (Photo: Instagram/kensingtonroyal)
Kate Middleton and Giovanna Fletcher (Photo: Instagram/kensingtonroyal)

The Duchess of Cambridge has just given the world a glimpse into what life is like as a royal mom. 

While talking to Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast host Giovanna Fletcher about her latest project, 5 Big Questions on the Under Fives (a British survey on parenthood), Kate also shared some behind the scenes details about her parenting experience.  

From the intense morning sickness she experienced during each of her pregnancies, to dabbling with hypnobirthing, and what it felt like holding her firstborn for the first time, the podcasts sees Kate getting super candid. 

Here are some of the most revealing things she shared. 

She says her morning sickness was worse than birth 

"I got very bad morning sickness so I'm not the happiest of pregnant people... and because it had been so bad during pregnancy I quite liked labour, because it was an event that I knew there was going to be an ending to." 

Getty Images.

She tried hypnobirthing to help with labour

"There's levels to it... I'm not going to say that William was standing there chanting sweet nothings at me... I saw the power of it, the meditation and the deep breathing that they teach you in hypnobirthing when I was really sick, and I realised that this was something I could take control of during labour. It was hugely powerful." 

She didn't know the gender of her first born until his birth 

"I didn't know, it was a surprise... it was really special." 

Getty Images. 

Parenting in the public eye isn't hunky-dory

"There's sort of a mixed feel that those who are [parenting] publicly do it very well and they've got no challenges at all and this idea that everything is hunky-dory and it's easy versus those who are finding it hard. ... But I've found that no matter what walk of life you've come from, there's so many things that unify parents and families in their struggles but also in their aspirations, too." 

                                                                                                                                Kate Middleton,hertogin van Cambridge

                                                                                                                                                                                                       Getty Images. 

She's struggles with mom guilt 

"It's a constant challenge and you hear it time and time again from mums. Even mums who aren't working are pulled in the directions of having to juggle life and family. There's always something to feel guilty about... always questioning your own decisions and your own judgements." 

She wants to parent like her grandmother

"I had an amazing Granny who devoted a lot of time to us, playing with us, doing arts and crafts and going to the greenhouse to do gardening, and cooking with us, and I try and incorporate a lot of the experiences that she gave us at the time into the experiences that I give my children now.”

Her parenting style revolves around simplicity

"Life now is so busy, so distracting and sometimes the simple things like watching a fire on a really rainy day provides such enjoyment and I remember that from my childhood... and that's what I try and do with my children because it totally strips away all the complications, all the pressures as a parent, and those experiences mean so much to children." 

                                                                                                                               kate middleton with princess charlotte

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Getty Images. 

She says it really does take a village to raise a family

"We need people around us... the more people you have around your children who are safe and loving and caring, the better... It's not totally my responsibility to do everything because we all have good days, bad days and if you can dilute that with others who aren't (on that particular day) struggling, it makes such a difference."  

Listen to the full podcast interview here: The Duchess of Cambridge on the early years 

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Read more:

'An absolute nightmare': Prince William shares what kind of grandmother Princess Diana would have been

Kate admits she would have welcomed extra support after having Prince George

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