Meghan Markle Reportedly Wants a Home Birth at 'Frogmore Cottage'

Accordingly to a new report, Meghan would really prefer to give birth at home, in Frogmore Cottage, if possible. Who wouldn’t want to avoid a hospital when their every move was tracked by tabloids? Childbirth is hard enough when you’re Jane Q. Rando and nobody cares about the most intimate details of your life.

The Daily Mail reported that Meghan’s current top choice is a home birth led by a midwife—though of course this is the sort of thing you really have to play by ear:

Sources stressed that Harry and Meghan, who are expecting their first child within weeks, have not ruled out a hospital delivery because a woman having a baby over the age of 35 is at an increased risk of premature birth or the need for an epidural or caesarean.

But a friend in America said the duchess – who still practices yoga daily and has ‘sailed’ through her pregnancy – is in extremely good health and sees no reason why she could not enjoy a safe delivery in the privacy of the cottage.

‘It is her favoured choice,’ the source said, ‘but it obviously depends on how things are nearer the time.’

The Mail added that it is indeed partly about not wanting to be in the middle of a three-ring international press circus:

It is understood they quickly ruled out the option of using the private Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Kate delivered George, now five, Charlotte, three, and 11-month-old Louis at St Mary’s. However it is thought Harry and Meghan decided against it because it felt too much like a ‘goldfish bowl’.

Frankly, if there’s anybody for whom a home birth makes sense, it’s the rich and super famous—you can afford the best quality care on site, you’ve probably already got a helicopter on standby 24/7 in case something goes wrong, and you can guarantee your privacy and security much more easily. And hey, it worked for the Queen.